Chance Encounter
by Toggstasy
Summary: This was supposed to be initially a oneshot that I am doing, detailing the fated meeting of two individuals, as foretold in the Elder Scrolls, as they journey throughout Tamriel, they will come to terms with the feelings they share for each other, and the long, potentially dark path before them. And through it all, they may just meet a living legend... OCxOC.
1. Chance Encounter

A Chance Encounter

By-Toggstasy

An Elder Scrolls tale

I don't own Elder Scrolls, Bethesda does, and its better that way, the only thing that belongs to me and my friend are the OC's Miryn, Dahmaan, and Nehviir

Kynesgrove, a small village not as far off of the beaten path as one would believe, one could say, a stones throw from Windhelm. The peace had been shattered by an encroaching, and surprisingly organized, contingent of trolls. A young Dunmer happened to catch sounds of alarm, and the clashing of steel. He casually makes his way over. "Sounds like trouble, well, can't catch a break can't we?" Miryn smirked. His incorporeal ally, Miranne, appeared, "You aren't just going to ignore this, are you?" He smiled, Miranne was the only one who could make him smile. "Fine, normally I'd let it pass, going out of my way to help people isn't quite my style, but I know you, and I know you won't let me be if I don't help." He muttered, drawing his sword.

What Miryn didn't expect was trolls. Trolls were never this organized, if anything, they were pretty damned stupid from what Miryn observed. But that was beside the point, it was time to grant these monsters a quick death, at least, until what he saw next, a troll that was at LEAST ten feet tall, with what seemed to be a cocky grin. "Oh SH-" Miryn narrowly dodged a blow that would have shattered a good deal of his bones. _I have to think, because this one, isn't stupid… It should be weak to fire, however. _"MIRYN, HEADS UP!" All he saw was the massive three fingered hand customary of a troll colliding with his body, he blocked rather badly, and was sent tumbling down the road way, and splat out some blood that had quickly formed in his mouth, his vision was hazing over. He had to get up, had too, or else he would joining Miranne, and while he wouldn't mind that, he manages to stagger to his knees.

The troll raised its club, only for a really loud clang to resound, when Miryn's vision cleared, there was a woman, a beautiful blond one, blocking the weapon, and then jumping up, gripping Miryn, and leaving him propped against a low stone wall. "You did well enough, now stay here." _What is she, and angel? Surely I'm dreaming. _Miryn spat out a mouthful of blood, and closed his eyes, he wanted to help the mysterious woman, but he felt utterly helpless. After a while, Miryn managed to feel a massive thud through his unconsciousness. He was gently pulled up by the woman, "Come on, come on. I got you."

Miryn gritted his teeth. His pride had gone right out the window, but he could give up some pride, as opposed to his life. The one thing he noticed, was two, this woman was rather beautiful, another thing he happened to notice was that she gave off a similar feeling Miryn experienced whenever Miranne manifested, though this woman didn't appear to be a phantom, so what was she?

Behind this eye-pleasing figure, another had stepped out from seemingly nowhere. This one was taller, much older, and from what he could see from the hood, oddly colored. He was inspecting the large troll, peering down before turning to the other two. His eyes wandered, he let out a heavy sigh, mumbling barely loud enough to make out, "Why must she always try to help…"

He took a few steps toward them, the young blonde turned to him with glee, "See that? I did it all by myself!... Well, mostly. You're still going to take me to Windhelm just like you promised, right?" The taller elfish man peered down at her with dismay, much like a father would to his troublesome daughter, before his moved onto Miryn. Her head bowed with disappointment, "I see."

The man pulled out one hand which he had hidden behind his back before, holding a sizable bag containing gold pieces. "Consider this, ah," he took out a long, drawn out breath, "Compensation, if you will. My apologies you had to stumble across this little mess." He looked to the young girl, nodding his head forward. She blossomed with energy and excitement, practically leaping ahead; she turned to Miryn once more, mouthing to him the word '_Sorry'_.

Miryn's knees buckled, he apparently had a long way until he recovered, he coughed up some blood, and his consciousness faded once more. When he came to, he was in the inn dubbed Candlehearth Hall, but the mysterious elderly man, and young, and admittedly, very attractive woman were no where to be found. Miranne was sitting on the edge of the bed, a small smile, was stroking Miryn's hair. He smiled, "Well hey." Miranne was silent, and when she did open her mouth, her only words were, "You really are an idiot. You're lucky someone was around to bring you here, and you need to listen to me, you need to sit back, and recover, because you keep pushing yourself, you'll end up alongside me, way before your time." Miryn had always wondered what it had been like to die, Miranne mentioned it like being asleep all the time, she also mentioned that the only reason she was able to manifest physically was that she was remembered by namely, Miryn. Miryn had to wonder if the mysterious woman was something similar…

Outside of Candlehearth, there was a familiar squeak. The young girl was emerging from the marketplace, humming a song to herself as she bundled herself up in the older man's wool overcoat. It was clear to see the strange tattooing that covered the man's body, now, though with a graze of his hand, managed to seal it from the average eye. "I don't see why we need to get there so bad," said the young girl sadly, "Is this why you've got me killing trolls? Don't get me wrong, I can handle it, but don't you think they're a bit _smaller_?"

The man stayed silent, only rolling in his eyes as opposed to a verbal response. "Oh, you're no fun. If we're going to stay in Skyrim, don't you think I should be allowed to make a few friends?" The man's face contorted to anger for a moment; though one of the locals didn't seem to notice and slap a flyer on their chests before moving on. The young girl took a glance at it, made a gasping sound, then looked back up at the man, "Can we stay? Hm? Please? Just a few days?" The man sighed, nodding slightly. She hugged him tightly, before turning away and muttering to herself, "Maybe we'll see that nice Dunmer boy again."

Days passed, and Miryn healed, gradually, but surely. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he ran into the mysterious man who had paid him the generous amount of gold, Miryn still had little idea what to do with it. He was twiddling thumbs in the New Gnisis Cornerclub, Dunmer were unwelcome in Windhelm, who'd have thought? He figured it was about time to leave Windhelm, before he ended up knocking some stupid Nords teeth out. He found himself approached by the young woman and the elderly Altmer(for all Miryn knew), Miryn noticed he looked rather irritated. He opened his mouth to speak. "She insisted on finding you, on account of you never introduced each other." She smiled. "Dahmaan." Miryn arched an eyebrow, and smiled. "Miryn, at your service." The elder Altmer seemed to have vanished with the shift of attention. _Damn, that's weird._

Her hands left the ends of her braided hair, clasping at his hands, "That's your name? Lovely." Her hands moved to the new shawl she had acquired some time in the last few days, covering her naked shoulders from the cold snow. She turned her head, pleased to see they had some solitude. "Don't mind him, he's such a sourpuss he almost never smiles," she laughed at this, despite the cold weather she almost radiated warmth from her smile. Her extended an arm, "Come with me."

She lead them to the bridge between the icy wilderness and the chilling city with a killer. She peered over to look at water below, a loose flower falling from her hair. Her eyes followed, before gazing at Miryn, "I just thought since we're staying here, at least for a while, I thought to make a friend for once. Do you have any friends?" Her voice was hopeful, for what who knew. "Eh, I've got my small collection of acquaintances. Only a certain few I can really call friend." "Nehv- I mean Uncle never really let's me on my own," she shrugged, before an idea came to her head, she jumped, clamping her hand on his arm, "Are you doing anything tonight? I thought dinner or something may be fun-" She giggled at the thought, a wide grin stretched ear to ear.

"E-excuse me?" Miryn went wide eyed in disbelief. "Silly, dinner! Don't tell me you didn't hear me?" Dahmaan tweaked one of Miryn's ears. "Dah, don't do that!" He yelped, with a sheepish grin. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miranne making a gagging motion, thankfully, she only showed herself to him. "Um, eh, sure, you have any ideas? I have never exactly done anything like this before…"

"Me neither, isn't it exciting?" She smiled, grabbing at his hands, before pausing, "Uh... What do you do during dinner? Like, I've heard of it, but- Ah well, I can figure it out myself." She tugged at him toward the city doors, "Where should we go? Is it something we can do anywhere or-" She laughed, "I'm getting ahead of myself. What do you want to do?" He arched an eyebrow, "Let's just settle for Candlehearth, shall we?" She nodded, "I always wanted to go in there!" She shot up almost ramrod straight, startling Miryn. She gripped the hapless Dark Elf by the hand, and dragged him towards it. "WHOA, slow the heck down!" That said, it could have gone better, with the obnoxious prejudice of the local Nords, the two didn't get much in the way of peace. Miryn left the Septims he owed, gripped Dahmaan's surprisingly soft hand, while Miranne did some invisible manipulation to put them in their place. Miryn was still steaming at the behavior of the local men. "I should have known, bastards…" Dahmaan gripped his shoulder, "Look, its OK. Next time, we'll just try somewhere else." She placed a hand on Miryn's face, "You have remarkably soft skin for a male."

Miryn smirked. "I'm not like most people." Miryn paused for a second, his ears picking up a shuffling sound. "We aren't alone…Dahmaan, stay close." An almost supernaturally swift figure leapt from the shadows, a the moon catching a brief flash of steel from a dagger, as the individual homed in on Dahmaan. "I'm right here, jack-"The words caught in his throat as the sharp pain of a dagger entering his abdominal region surged through him. He crumpled almost instantly. Thankfully, Nehviir was never truly too far. He quickly, and silently dispatched the man, and turned towards the incumbent Dunmer, and Dahmaan, seething. "This is why I don't let you go out alone, this is the sort of thing that ends of happening." Dahmaan was frantic, "Look, lecture me later! I'm not sure if you noticed, but my friend here isn't doing too well." Nehviir sighed in exasperation, "I guess we have little choice but to bring him with us…" He nudged the unconscious Miryn with his foot, "Then again, there is a large body of water right outside the city..." Dahmaan shot up, grabbing his forearm, "He's not dead and you know that! You and I both know you wouldn't do that if you had a chance to save him."

Nehviir stared down at Dahmaan, cursing to himself to showing her in the city in the first place. The markings that ran down his body began to glow on his skin, signaling him to draw his hood. He ran a hand across his abdomen, the blood that had stained his clothes had drawn back into the wound, showing no trace of an incident. His hands began to lift to the Dunmer's head, before Dahmaan stopped him, "Let him prove he can be trusted. He's kind, he'll understand. If he can't..." She let out a breath, "You can erase his memory." Nehviir sighed heavily, rubbing his temples with distress. He stood, slinging Miryn over his shoulder like he was nothing, "I just wouldn't mind so much if he wasn't a boy, you know that." Dahmaan clasped her hands joyfully, hugging him by the waist, "Oh, you're the best! I'll feed him, take care of him, make sure he's healthy-" "This is a mortal, not a dog."

FIN-So...what do you all think? Apologies if it seems a tad rushed...


	2. Aqua Symphony

Aqua Symphony

Rated T-Suggestive Themes, violence

By Toggstasy

My friend and I don't own Elder Scrolls, Bethesda does, If we did, well, we'd be sitting pretty!

Miryn had eventually fallen into a deep sleep, for how long he did not know. He felt the warmth of the sun rays hitting his skin, causing him to stir. His eyes were heavy, his arms weak, but he pushed himself into the waking world. The sun was high in the sky, raised in between the narrow branches that blanketed him from sunlight. It took him a moment to realize that he was not in Windhelm, nor in any part of the Eastmarch hold. He pushed himself up to sit right, looking around until he was head butted back onto the rough ground. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Squealed an upside down Dahmaan, hanging off one of the lower branches, "I was wondering when you'd wake. I was starting to get worried..."

She hopped off, sending it swinging to and fro. She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up into her upper chest, "I'm so sorry, I just got excited- You don't have a headache or anything, do you dear?" She let go of her grasp, setting him back and brushing some hair out of his face, "You feel fine, but I think that's for fevers and such... I think." "I, uh," he was at a loss for words, due to how close her face was and didn't seem to bother her, "Where exactly am I?"

"The Rift. And dear? I mean, I like it, but...you sure are an affectionate type aren't you?" Dahmaan grinned, snuggling up close to the hapless Dunmeri youth. "You got it!" Miryn seemed to notice the odd absence of Nehviir. "So...where's Nehviir?" Miryn cast his eyes across the lush landscape of the Rift. Dahmaan shrugged. "He said he had business to attend to."Miryn shrugged. "He doesn't seem to like me that much. You sure that it wouldn't be better if I went on my way, I have a habit of making things a lot worse without even trying…"Miryn's face took on a guilty visage. "No, no, it's not like that..." She turned her head to the side to mull over her thoughts, "He just, doesn't like many people... I tell him to embrace the world, he says hide from it. I had to talk him out of dumping you in a lake," she laughed, though Miryn did not find this so amusing, "Just, try not to ask too many questions. He doesn't like that."

She helped her friend up, stretching her arms. She lead him to a large cluster of rocks, Nehviir standing on one of the largest. Dahmaan squealed, running and leaping off the cliff and down to the water below. Miryn panicked, running and looking over. "Oh, calm down, do you really think I'd let her go that easily?" With a flick of his wrist, a large sphere filled with water rose; Dahmaan sat cross-legged in the middle as she floated upside down, waving her hand. The floating bubble bursted, Dahmaan being thrown back on the rocks. "Let's do that again!" She sprang back up, clutching at Nehviir's arm, "It was so fun!" "I'm sure, small one," he rested his hand on her head as she giggled.

Miryn stepped away and leaned on a tree, the shadows cast by the eaves of the branches obscured his expression, but he was grinning, prompting Miranne to appear. "I'm glad you found someone to help you out of your sadness." She placed a hand on Miryn's face. "Are you seriously just going to stand here under this tree, when was the last time you had some real fun, haven't you ever heard the saying, live and let live?" Miryn sighed. "I have, but thats easier said than done." Miranne sighed. "The only reason that is the case is that you can't seem to let go of the guilt of when I died, it was never your fault, we mortals are a very flimsy race, even in this age, accidents, death, and violence can still kill us as easily as ever. I'm glad you lived though. You have a full life, full of potential, I don't want to see you until you are an old, wise, prestigious ruler of one of those big mushroom towers your race is so fond of." Miryn arched an eyebrow, "I'm not if thats a compliment, or what...But I suppose its the sentiment that counts."

"Miryn?" Dahmaan had spoken up, snapping him out of his previous conversation, "Who're you talking to?" "I, uh... Well, you see-" She laughed, pressing her index fingers to her lips, "I just wanted to give you this." She took a flower which was previously entwined in her hair and laid it on his head, "Take this. I'd tie it in, but I don't think your hair is as long as mine. Think of it as part of the welcome wagon." She grinned wider, "Should I let you finish talking to yourself?"

Miryn was surprised. "This is a beautiful flower, where did you even find this, and where did you even find this?" He placed a hand on the girls face. Nehviir scowled. "Oh calm down, I'm not trying to get in her pants." That said, Miryn, did seem to get flustered around her, even more than Miranne, and in a tidal wave of nerves, he planted his lips on hers. "There, I needed to do that, Nehviir, or no Nehviir. You have some really soft lips, by the way." Miryn smiled. She blinked, her eyes wide but confused. "Is... That how the mortals show appreciation?" She looked to Nehviir, chuckling, "Mortals have strange customs, don't you think?" She turned back, before her smile cracked and turned into one of her rare frowns, "Oh... I see. I'm sorry," she turned back to her older friend, 'I was never told- I know, I know." Nehviir walked ahead, shooting the both of them an angry look, "If it happens again, punishment will result in time out."

"I hate time out..." She sighed to herself, looking to Miryn with a sad smile, "Sorry you had to hear that. He gets stern with me and other people. He'll warm up eventually, I promise." She grabbed his hand, leading him to the campsite, "Do your people have any other customs? They seem very interesting."

Miryn sighed."Well, Dunmer generally live much longer than the races of men, as with all Elves, with the Orcs being the exception. But, when it comes to love, we are all the same, thats one thing that stays the same with all the races, we love, we lose, and we die. In any case, my people in particular are xenophobic to the extreme, in some cases even more than the High Elves of the Aldmeri Dominion. All I know about my family, is that I am not pure Dunmer. I grew up alone...And up until now, I was alone." Dahmaan smiled. "It doesn't seem to be the case that you were alone, you have a guardian angel, who watches over you, I can sense something like that, or maybe I am imagining it." Miryn was silent. "Something wrong?" Miryn shook his head, his abundant amount of hair getting in his eyes.

"She's very pretty, you know. I don't remember seeing something like her, especially with how short she is," she laughed to herself, "You two are just like me and Nehviir. He was alone, then I came along. Now he's happy... Well, sort of." She thought over what all she said, looking towards him, "What exactly is a Dunmer? And an Orc? What's it like to even die? So much has changed since his time, there's so much Nehviir hasn't even told me. It's so confusing to see all of this. But you know what?" She leaned in, a wide smile on her face, "That's the best part." She laughed, running ahead of him, her hands covering her mouth.

"Well, do you want me to tell you or not?" Miryn said chuckling, he said, flinging off his shirt, he was getting too warm, and thats impressive, even for a Dunmer. He had a few scars, but it didn't really get in the way. He had a form of magic that distorted space, and he had cut ahead of Dahmaan. He crossed his arms over his chest. "As I was saying, or trying to say, Dunmer, or the Dark Elves of Morrowind, are an elven race, and all races, bar the Orcs, born from treachery, start in the same place, Aldmeris, which doesn't exist anymore from what the records say, the Ayleids, are the ones who founded the first empire. But that's a looong story. You know, its a damn shame Nehviir is so overprotective, how old are you exactly? Can't you make decisions for yourself? If its a touchy subject, I apologize, but how did you know about Miranne? And she's different than other people anyway...There's something keeping us from being together..."

"You even sound like him! Though I still don't remember Dunmer and Orcs." she laughed, playfully hitting him in the arm, before taking on a more somber gaze, her smile still bright, "Miranne? That's her name? Sounds as pretty as her face. I try not to notice her, since I was always told it's rude to drop in on other's conversations. As for my age, I'm not sure actually. Nehviir always told me I was a special little flower, I suppose that's why I like having them in my hair," she chuckled softly, "I always have a say in things, don't get us wrong, but we see things differently. He's not used to these times, these styles and fashions that weren't around when he was still young."

Miryn bit his lip, this talk of flowers made him want to drop a double-entendre, but with Nehviir in the forefront of his mind, he just let it go. He looked at the sky, the sun was about to crest the massive, jagged, fog shrouded mountains that characterize Skyrim. "So...What exactly are we waiting for? And why does Nehviir keep disappearing? It seems odd...Still though, I find it weird that you can't make your own decisions, what's life without a walk on the wild side of things? I mean, haven't you ever been in love before, I mean,I may be young, but I have once before, sure it didn't last long to be sure. But still, its fun, unpredictable, and sometimes kind of irritating. But its an experience, to be sure. I mean, its from love, that we are all born, it was taught to us by the gods. At least, so the legends go, one of these days, if Nehviir, ever lightens up, I'll be sure to show you. As it is though, I have things to do, so I'll catch you both later." Miryn walked off, whistling...

That night, things were off. There was some tension, by who or what who knew. Dahmaan kept going back and forth between one side of their campsite, picking flowers, and sitting with Nehviir, where the only attention she got was an arm around the shoulder. The two whispered to one another for a moment, which must have been one bordering on an argument. Nehviir had grew stern and irritated, snapping at her and turning away. Dahmaan, as a result, decided to take refuge in one of the thicker, taller trees. Miryn hadn't been paying too much attention to the last part, until he felt leaves falling on him from one of the branches. Miryn looked up. "Dahmaan, you up there? Look, just come on down. Looks like Nehviir is a bit irritated, just spend some time with me. He's bound to calm down eventually."

The Dark Elf caught the young woman as she leapt down, and set her down gently. He yawned. "Still sleepy, I see." Dahmaan had a mischievous glint in her eye. "I know, come with me." Miryn tilted his head, he didn't like where this was going, he shrugged and followed, no doubt against his better judgment. When he finally caught up to the girl, they were overlooking a wide lake, with the moon reflected on its surface, about 6 feet below them. "Well if this isn't totally cliche, I have no idea what is…" Suddenly Dahmaan was behind him. "What in the-" He felt a light push, but that was enough for him to go toppling into the body of water. He eventually broke the surface of the water, to take a breath. "What the hell? Really?" Miryn shouted. Dahmaan was silent, but he a shape, a blur, suddenly drop, and hit the water, seconds later, Dahmaan surfaced, a cocky smirk on her face. Miryn averted his gaze, as she ditched her clothes before leaping apparently. Miryn hastened towards the riverbank, but was stopped. "Whats the big deal?" Dahmaan chuckled.

"Y-you know very well what!" Miryn was caught once again. "It's rude to leave a woman hanging, you've taught me a lot, but I've been sheltered, I want to learn more, so much more, and this is just another thing, I like you a lot. And its easy to see that you do as well." She tweaked one of Miryn's ears, which made him shudder. "I take it you like that."

"You are not as innocent as you let on."

FIN-It's getting real up in here, hehe...


	3. Blurred Lines

Chance Encounter 3

Rated T-Language, etc

Blurred Lines

Hours had passed, and Miryn was twiddling his thumbs in silent contemplation, when, not surprisingly, Dahmaan shattered his thought train, not that it mattered, it was almost like Miryn was unable to be mad at her, perhaps it was some spell, or maybe his mind tricked him into thinking so, regardless, the woman had stolen his normally glacial heart, only one woman had done that prior. "So, what are you thinking about, silly?" Dahmaan smiled, pulling him close. _Gods, she smells really nice… _Miryn's mental faculties always seemed to go south for the winter whenever Dahmaan was in his presence, as his mind drifted to her subtle curves, the softness of her skin… Of course though, Nehviir seemingly materialized out of nowhere as the two began to close the distance for a kiss. "Oh, damn it...Can't get one minute alone together, can we?"

"No," he growled, "Especially not with her. I know what the two of you had done, I also know what the two of you are doing and I need to stop this while it's ahead." He swung his arms, swinging the two away from one another by some unknown source. Nehviir's hood had dropped, finally showing off all the markings and tattoos imprinted on his dark skin. "I told you that it can't get too personal, too close... I told you to keep your distance if you're not going to warn him, yet this happened? What of last night?" He grew closer to Dahmaan, who refused to meet his eye. "I- It's not what you think-" "Then what could it be? I am trying to give you trust, yet you abuse it like any other normal teenager. But wait, you're not normal." Things went quiet; Dahmaan had fully turned her back to Nehviir. "I don't like playing the mean father-" "No, but you're perfect for playing a dictator." Her voice cracked at the end, letting out a muffled sob as she washed some of tears.

"Dahmaan-" he reached for her shoulder, "I've just been paranoid and what you and this mortal are doing-" "He's not a mortal!" She turned back to him, fire burning in her usual soft blue eyes, "He's a person, more like you than you think! You choose not to trust him because you gave him no opportunity to! You haven't directly talked to him, you just watch him to see what he does! I... I ha-" The rest of her sentence was caught off by a couple explosions. None of them had seen it coming; the loud ringing sound coupled by the clash of falling trees had caused enough commotion to make everyone pause, but when the smokescreen had hit, everything grew blurry.

The air had taken on a dense quality, nobody could see farther than a few inches in front of them. Nehviir let out a yell, of rage or fear who knew. Miryn's first concern was for Dahmaan. Something had hit him in the back of the head, dropping him to hard ground. Next thing he knew, a familiar soft hand caught his as Dahmaan lifted him up, "Are you alright?" She quickly turned her head back, before looking back down to Miryn, "Follow me." Miryn staggered for a second, his vision still hazy from the impact of what had just occurred."Man, what the hell was that?" he said weakly. Dahmaan shrugged, "Beats me, but we have to figure out what." When Miryn's vision actually cleared, he stopped in shock, trees had been blown over like matchsticks, flickering with flame. "Not sure where that came from, but that power, its not normal." Miryn spoke with experience. Dahmaan eyed him suspiciously. "You seem awfully familiar with this kind of destruction, care to tell me?" Miryn stammered. "Something I read in a book that the College of Winterhold had, now lets get a move on, shall we?"

She smiled, slowly shaking her head. Nehviir let out another cry, calling for her this time. Her look immediately changed to one of guilt, looking in the direction his voice was coming from. "Whatever it is, let Nehviir handle it. He doesn't need us, we don't need him," she said with a bitter taste, crouching down. She caught Miryn by the hand, leading him away from the thick smoke and the smell of burning wood. There was more destruction than what was thought, a whole section of the once beautiful forest was now pieces of charcoal and rubble. There was one last cry coming from Nehviir, Dahmaan didn't bother looking back this time. Her pace picked up to sprinting, Dahmaan's heart was heavy with instant regret.

The two ran almost the whole way, as they traveled to the more mountainous side of the Rift. The two dropped what they had left, falling and leaning on some trees for support as they gasped for breath. Dahmaan eyes were still filled with tears as she thought over her choices. As Miryn began to piece things together, he had a sudden thought, of Nehviir died, what would happen to Dahmaan, either physically, or mentally, she had a similar aura to Miranne, so he had to wonder, and he was going to find the truth, whether Nehviir liked it or not. _I may not like the old man, but I know when an individual is in over his head, he needs help, whether he realizes it or not. _"Dahmaan, wait for me, alright? There is something I have to do." Miryn closed his eyes, tapping into the ancient dark powers within himself, dark energy wrapping itself around his arm, forming and inky black, clawed arm, layer upon layer of magic giving him the edge he needed, and as a side effect, shredding his shirt, not that it made a difference to him, things like that could be replaced, the feeling coursing through his body could only be described as..._euphoric. _The beast had been unleashed.

That said, when Miryn thought he was getting close, Nehviir was seemingly nowhere to be found. "The hell?" Miryn reverted back to normal, and began to investigate the site. Despite it being charred beyond belief, it felt cold, which was definitely strange. Dahmaan approached. "I have no idea where he went, and as much as I hate to say it, we can't stay, this is definitely going to draw some attention, and not the kind we need. Brr…"Miryn shivered. "Perhaps I should have thought this through…" Dahmaan gave him a weak smile. "We'll find him again, you have my word Dahmaan. I don't have much offer besides that, so thats all there is to really gain, so…"He trailed off with a sheepish grin.

She waved a hand, "It's okay. He's lived this long, he won't be willing to go down without a fight. A big one, at that." She laughed a bit, trying to keep on her usual smile. "The most I know is he's not dead. Obviously, or I wouldn't- Ah, look at that!" She looked up at the moons and stars, smiling bright, "Can't tell you how long it's been since I've seen them this beautiful- Look at me, getting side tracked!" She wrapped a trusting arm around one of Miryn's arms, "Before we leave, you're not hurt or anything are you? That tree looked like it hit you pretty hard..." A hand ran through his hair, looking carefully for anything that needs tending. "Hm, you look fine. Ah well, I'll have a closer look when we find some kind of shelter. You lead, sir." Miryn stopped her for a moment. "You changed the subject, thats an evasion." He commented. He couldn't help but get suspicious, despite the fact that he was sure it wasn't going to lead anywhere pretty. Dahmaan sighed. _I just don't want to hurt him, you can have the best intentions in the world, it doesn't mean that people will understand you. _"Hey, Dahmaan, you with me here?" Dahmaan was curious. "Those scars, how did you get them, especially when you're so young…?" "And why should I tell you? Don't act like you don't hide things from me," he teased her. She poked her nose in the air, trying to hide a smile, "Oh, I don't know what you could possibly be talking of."

The two traveled north, finding a small cave to shield them from oncoming rain. There was a troll inside, though the two didn't have much problem in taking it down. Dahmaan felt herself become dizzy, sitting herself on a large rock before she smelled something foul. "Oh, ew, what in the name of Azura is that?" She made a few more remarks, sending up a candlelight to help see. There was a small mound compiled of rotting corpses, though this didn't give her the same reaction most people would, "Oh, come on now. Out of every cave, why this one?" She sighed as she watched the rain pour hard. Miryn sighed. "Well, dead bodies eh? Lets see what I can do…"It took some doing, but Miryn managed to bury them, unmarked graves sadly, but thats the best he could do, with that he brushed off his hands, and stepped out into the heavy rain, and stared up at the sky, the rain matting together his fair locks, and dew forming on his flower. Dahmaan chuckled. "You still have that flower, eh?" Miryn turned around, but not moving from his spot, the rain trailing down his bare chest. "Well, yeah, it means a lot, reminds me that even in the darkest moments, there is still a small mote of light, which reminds me, I have to show Tamriel, you do know what the name means in the language of the High Elves, right?"

"Of course," she scoffed, "I've been here long enough to know that much, though these modern customs of lip contact are completely alien to me. Er, let's see... Dawn's beauty? I'm almost positive that's it. Tamriel is home to many names, by different people who come from different cultures, so it's hard to remember what means what sometimes." She chuckled softly, "I know what you mean, though. Nehviir came from bad places, not too sure what he has done, though. But he has changed, trying to change more. It's just hard for us to get used to all of this." She shrugged, "I would say you probably think I'm crazy, but you're much more understanding than that. This probably comes crystal clear to you, and I like that."

"Modern customs of lip contact eh? Well, thats not even the half of it, as it happens, a while back, I was in the company of a group of Dibella worshippers about a year back, and lets just say, I learned a lot, and I know you aren't crazy, like me, you're just different. We all are, I'm a broken soul, but I keep going, you're pure, just like the flower you gave me. All I really desire is to get my life back on track, and I feel like this is the beginning of a new, and beautiful journey, we'll find Nehviir, and for the first time in years, I'm not alone." Miryn's thoughts trailed elsewhere. "There's something bigger going on here, when I met Nehviir, I felt a strange familiarity, and that's no coincidence in my book, there is something big going on here, bigger than all of us." Miranne materialized. "You think so too, eh? And Dahmaan is keeping a secret from us, and I think Nehviir is aware of whatever this secret is, that said, I don't think Dahmaan is dangerous, just rather mysterious, but she is kind, to be sure." Miranne smiled. "And she loves you a lot. Don't forget that."

"I told you! You two are more alike than you seem," she gave him a cocky look, "Lots of things, really. But for bigger, I'm not sure. There are things Nehviir doesn't even tell me, actually. Like why are we going where we're going, what things he got into before I came along, or how I came." She gave a simple shrug, before a large smile came, "I'd show my flattery and appreciation of your friend's compliments by lip contact, but I don't think it would really work out." The rain begin to lighten up, even the clouds began to dissipate slightly. Dahmaan noticed this, leaving her rock to look farther. Her first steps on the ground, it felt like someone hit her in the head with a blunt object. She toppled a bit, trying to find balance, her vision began to blur as it went into something she knew was not her surroundings. Things flashed, going from very vivid and surreal to blurry and inconceivable. "Miryn?" She called, feeling one hand to the side of her head. She collapsed all at once, falling on her side.

Miryn dashed to her, drops of rain from his hair falling on her, "Dahmaan, Dahmaan! Whats going on? Are you alright?" He said, gently holding her close. He had no idea what was going on, so all he could do was cross his fingers, and pray that whatever was affecting the young woman would pass, and so he sat in the mouth of the cave, her head in his lap, and waited, and the rain, that had appeared to let up, was looking to be preparing for round two, common of the southern half of the Fatherland, he stroked Dahmaan's golden locks, memories of happier days running through his head, he picked her up, and made a makeshift bed for her, and satisfied she was safe enough, he leaned against a wall, his bare back against the smooth stone, and he nodded off, to the sounds of rain all around him. He started dreaming…

He was standing in a field of daisies, the wind blowing softly, flowers, flowers, flowers as far as the eye could see…"This can't be normal." Miryn sighed, setting off down the hill,blinking...The grass rustled with each of his steps...There was something rather surreal about this serene landscape. Then, seemingly from everywhere and nowhere, Dahmaan's voice sounded. "That's because you are dreaming silly. They may be fleeting things, but the fact is, repressed desires come to the fore in ones dreams. Trust me, I know how you feel, and what you wish to do, and I can indulge you to some extent, so…"In a blindingly bright flash of light, "Dahmaan" appeared, with a small smile. Miryn crossed his arms.

"Privacy," she spoke, in this dreamworld there were some slight differences, such as vines running through her hair attached to the flowers she bore, "That is what you wanted, right? For you to be alone with me..." A few light fingertips combed some loose hair to the side, "Like this." He caught her hand, pulling her closer and enclosing the space between them. The two's lips met, hands began to gradually roam and explore one another's body. The two slowly began to fall back, the scenery shifting to something more romantic. They landed on a bed, her hair no longer braided but fallen on the sheets around them. Their bodies shifted, things slowly became heated. It wasn't long before she finally managed to pull away, her hands roaming his hair once more. "Wake up," she told him, a sad smile on her face, "It's time to go." Miryn sighed. "I suppose you're right." With that, the young woman faded into white flower petals, leaving Miryn very much alone. With that, he woke up.

"I wonder if Dahmaan had a similar dream." He smirked, noticing a slight blush on her cute face. Night was about to fall, they needed to get within the safety of a city's walls, and quick, Skyrim was a treacherous fare in certain places when night fell. The rain had let up, leaving behind a beautiful starry sky, with brilliant green bands of light tipped with pink across the sky, cresting the Throat of the World, it was a beautiful sight. He went over to the incumbent Dahmaan, and hoisted her on his shoulders, in the distance, he could see the small town of Shor's Stone, if memory served, there was indeed an inn there, which was exactly what the the duo needed, as Miryn was walking, Dahmaan began to stir. He craned his neck slightly, and smiled at her. "Finally awake, I see. You sleep well?"

"Yeah, I had the strangest dream though, but it wasn't unpleasant, it was silly, though…"She waved a hand dismissively. Miryn chose to leave out the details of his dream, which prompted Miranne to reply, "Someone's got the hots." _Shut up, Miranne, yeesh. _Dahmaan laughed at this, leaning against him further, "She's very funny. I like her especially." She traced a finger along Miryn's ear, chuckling to herself, "That's a very strange tick, you got there. Very funny, no?" When the two paid for a room at the small inn, Dahmaan was quick to leap off of him and bounce on the bed. "Can't believe it's nighttime already, you'd think it'd pass while I slept!" She landed on the bed once more, propping her feet against a wall, "At least the beds are fun, though."

_I swear that girl is happy all the time, I have no idea where she gets it...I could use some of that energy, but right now, all I want to do is just fall asleep somewhere comfortable. At least these beds aren't lined with straw, living like a king for a night. _Miryn flung himself down on the other bed, his arms behind his head, with him kicking his boots off. Even then, he couldn't help but shake off the slightest feeling of apprehension, and Dahmaan somehow could pick up on this. "Something wrong, sweets?" Miryn shook his head, "No...no, its nothing." Dahmaan frowned. "I know its hard for you, but one of these days, you are going to have let people in, living in solitude is no way to live at all, no matter what you may believe. I just want to help you, cuz, I like, no, love you, a lot. Keep that in mind." There was a momentarily silence, Dahmaan crossed her arms sternly as he persisted not to tell, "I swear, you two need to learn that the whole reason I'm even here is to help!" She pushed herself back onto the bed once more, kicking her feet straight into the air, muttering under her breath, "Boys... I swear they're as stupid as goblins sometimes." "Hey!" "No offense," she pointed a finger at him, "You can't keep secrets, though. I mean, there are some things we may not want to know, but if it's important enough someone's got to come clean." "It's not like you don't," Miryn arched a brow, Dahmaan sitting up slightly, "That's different."

"Maybe, but ultimately, I'm too tired to argue about this…"Miryn turned over, sighing, no doubt that this was going to be a sleepless night, but he wasn't going to give Dahmaan the satisfaction that she shook him to his core, despite her innocence, Dahmaan sure knew how to hit the right nerves, he turned around, facing the young woman. "Dahmaan, I-I'm...dammit, this is always the hardest thing for me, I'm sorry, just give me some time, okay, and I'll tell you everything you want to know, I'm in a rut, thats all. I'm normally the last guy to admit this sort of thing, but I need you by my side. Though I'm sure you don't want to talk to me right now, and I can't say I blame you, really. Well, for what its worth, good night, Dahmaan. I...love you." He turned, facing the smooth stone wall. There was a slight pause, followed by shuffled movement and strange noise. Miryn was just about to go back to sleep, when Dahmaan hopped on his bed, snuggling under the covers with him. "I don't like being alone," she said simply, wrapping herself in the sheets. Miryn took this as her way of accepting his apology, patting her head as he closed his eyes once more.

FIN-


	4. High Voltage

Part 4-High Voltage

Rated T-For, oh you know already

I don't own Elder Scrolls, nor does my buddy

Miryn was dreaming vividly, a continuation of his most previous dream, which was unfortunately short lived as Dahmaan decided it would be fun to wake him up by jumping on the bed and screaming repeatedly. When he began to stir she plopped onto her stomach, poking him in the forehead, "Wakey, wakey, my little buddy." He turned the other way, his back to her. Dahmaan didn't take this well, flailing her arms and legs on the bed while screaming, "IT'S ALMOST NOON!" When he let out a grunt, she took a pillow and hit him once, "UP!"

"Oh god, what? Jeez." Even with his little intricacies, Miryn was still a teenager at heart, and he hated his sleep regimen getting disrupted. "Mind if I ask as to what was so pressing as to wake me up like this?" Miryn groaned, slightly irritated. He shook his head in an attempt to clear the "fuzz" in his eyes that results from sleep. "You got a bead on Nehviir yet?" Dahmaan shook her head. "Sadly no." At that point, some heavy footsteps echoed through the halls, suddenly the door was flung open, revealing a fierce looking red haired woman, whose eyes were as dark as death. Miryn stood up, this was going to end with violence. "Who are you?" The woman cleared her throat. "My name is inconsequential, it's nothing personal, but I am the one who will end your lives with my blade, as dictated by my master." She pulled her cowl up, hiding all of her face but her eyes. There was an explosion outside, people running out to discover what. "That should distract the guards," she said to herself, looking from Dahmaan to Miryn as she took out her bow and some strange looking arrows, "I think I'll face you first, you look like the tougher challenge." In one swift movement, she launched an arrow into the ceiling, the arrow dissipating as a noxious gas and a thick fog poured out of it.

Miryn was quick to grab Dahmaan and run, he wasn't going to stick around and find out what that gas did. "Whew, who the hell is that?" Miryn wondered aloud. This woman was out for blood on the orders of someone else, the question was, who? As much he hated to admit it, they needed Nehviir, and they needed him now. But hoping wasn't going to do them any good, Miryn had to act, and fast. "Dahmaan, I need you to fight. I know its not your forte, but I need you to help. You can fight, right? Nehviir is not here, and we need to help ourselves, you'll be fine, no one is going to hurt you, not while I am around, you gotta trust me on that." She nodded hurriedly, taking out her short sword and shield, "Y-Yeah, I can fight. Usually, I need Ne- Ah, screw it. I can fight for myself." There was some creaking floorboards, but nothing to really indicate movement.

"Looks like we aren't going to be able to escape, no matter. I've been fighting all my life." _I have to protect Dahmaan, even if it turns me into a demon, I'll tear down the sky for her. She may be disappointed as hell in me, but that doesn't matter, I'll do what I can. _And so, with his determination, Miryn stood up, clenching his dark blade in hand. A dark purple mist began to permeate throughout the area, and the mysterious woman appeared. "I knew you were a demon, but that power, is impressive, care to demonstrate, after all, you and I, we're the same. You think you're the righteous one, but at the end of the day, you're a corrupted soul." Miryn gritted his teeth. Dahmaan spoke up. "That's not true, there is light within him, he has to search for it, is all. I believe in him, and thats all that matters." The woman chuckled. "Utterly ridiculous, he can't change what he is, no matter how much he may try. And you, girl, you can't help him, no matter what you may say, they are just empty words, devoid of meaning, or purpose. But I have said all there is to say, all there is, is the conflict." Dahmaan charged at her, sword in hand, releasing a battle cry not too different from Nehviir's from the explosion.

The woman managed to dodge each strike, only taking a step to completely dodge. Dahmaan attempted to bash her with her shield, but the woman leaned back to extreme lengths, winking at Miryn. "You're elf friend put up a better fight, I can give him that. Lucky me, he didn't take up many arrows." She sprinted towards him, instead of launching her arrows at them, she stuck them into the ceiling. She turned back to them, her back to the nearby exit, she pulled on the barely visible thread connecting them, the ceiling above collapsing. She leaped up into the remaining rafters, uncertain whether or not they are dead, but deciding to blend into the shadows for now and see how things would unfold.

Miryn fell to his knees. "I'm tired Dahmaan, really tired, all my life, I've been fighting, fighting...and it never seems to end. I don't know how I get myself into these fights, they always seem to arrive at my proverbial doorstep. I want just one day where someone isn't trying to kill me, but maybe I can never have that." He sighed, "What I would give to put all of this behind me, I guess we gotta head out again though, yeah? We won't be safe if we stay in one place too long." Miryn picked up his blade, and gave the owners of the local inn a generous sum of gold. "To cover the damages…" Miryn muttered. "Have a good day…" Dahmaan tried to give a reassuring grin, but it didn't come off like that. "Dahmaan, its time for the truth, you aren't exactly human, are you? I could sense it the moment we met, that you were different. You tell me your story, and I'll tell you mine, no beating around the bush anymore, if we're gonna be in this for the long run, we have to be able to trust each other, isn't that what you told me, you have to live up to your own words, too."

"I- Well, it's not that simple... I, well, I did say that, didn't I?" She bit her lip, "Well then, I guess it all started whe-" "Don't you think I should be the one to explain all this?" said a familiar voice, an old strange, elven looking man leaning on the half destroyed doorway. "NEHVIIR!" Dahmaan called, tears in her eyes as she sprinted to hug him. It took almost all of his remaining energy to stand on his own, let alone not try to let her crush him. They held each other tight, Dahmaan letting out a small sob, "I-I didn't know what happened to you, I was trying to find somewhere safe and you didn't come, and and-" "Grounded. One week." His hands raised to her temples as an angry look flashed across his face and, just like that, her whole for, popped like a bubble into nothing, "Should know better than to lie to me..." There were gasps, but Nehviir hadn't the time to be discreet. He waved a hand over the small crowd, the cyan-colored aura spreading over them, "Dragons attacked and destroyed the inn and the mine. Many people died. I'd advise you all to talk to the Jarl about this." He pulled up his hood, turning to Miryn, "Before you jump, no I did not kill her, she's basically in time out. She needs it, too. Too weak to fight, like she just tried."

Nehviir had Miryn follow him to the thicker parts of the Rift, where the tree made it hard to see the sky, let alone bring in any sunshine. Nehviir casted a spell, muttering an incantation to himself, before finally turning to Miryn, "I think now would be the proper time to hold a moment of truth, so to speak. I believe we owe each other quite a long list of answers, no? You start. I want to hear everything. From the beginning."

Miryn sighed. "Well, what do you want to know? I may not be that old, but I've got secrets, and I'm sure yours dwarf mine, but in any case, I'll answer any question of yours, I just want to get this out of the way, I'm sure with some things, you have made your own inferences, but I see that is not enough." Miryn scratched the back of his head, as Nehviir didn't break eye contact. I can also see that we arent that different, but I'll save my questions for once you are done, so lets get this over with shall we? Ask away." Miryn smirked. "Actually before you start Nehviir, I have one simple question, do you hate me? Cuz it feels like it, I don't care one way or another, I'm just curious."

"I have no opinion of you. I keep you here because you know too much, which alone makes me worry. I keep my distance to observe you, see what I can know, which has proved some use. Your intentions with my companion do not affect me, if that's what you're getting at. In fact, you and her could've accomplished quite a few things if it weren't for a couple things standing in the way. I admit, I am paranoid, but due to experiences I have learned it is smart to be cautious then to let your guard down like our mutual friend does." Nehviir huffed, "I'm not a big talker, as you see. So let's make it short and simple: Why is our attacker also wanting to harm you? What are you, exactly? What are your intentions with me and Dahmaan? Why should I trust you? Go."

"On that first one, I have some ideas, she thinks I am some sort of demon, I am just a normal Dunmer, who has been privy to unfortunate circumstances the day I was born, as for Dahmaan, all I can say is I love her, and as for why you should trust me, let me put it like this: I am not a bad person, I just am trying to live, no need to be suspicious of me. I wouldn't dream of doing anything to hurt Dahmaan, and by extension, you." Miryn paused for a second. "What exactly is Dahmaan? What are you? And why are you observing me so intently, I'm not an experiment…" Miryn finished.

"Dahmaan is a creation of mine. I am not her father, she is not an ordinary, seventeen year old Nord girl, she is an extension of my being. In my day, when my people were abundant and thriving, I delved into darker magic. I have ties with Mephala, just as most of my people did, but I took things further. In exchange for powerful knowledge, I gave up something of my own as you can see by my skin. It's painful, yes. My people, the Chimer, soon found out of my connections after a few mishaps and seeing me, so I fled far away and slept for a very, very long time. While my body hibernated, my mind expanded, giving me a companion: Dahmaan. Even her physical form has ties to my past, which is partially why I named her that. Now, the reason I observe you? To see what you're capable of, to see if you're just dead weight on our shoulders. Is that all?" He narrowed his eyes a little.

"So you're one of my ancestors, interesting…I can't think of much else. As for what I am capable of…"Miryn smiled, his eyes glowing a fiery red, as the powers of chaos that coursed within his body manifested. "So you see, I am very powerful, but my soul is fragmented. I can feel it slipping away week by week, I have no idea what will happen when it finally goes completely. But even so, I want to be with Dahmann until the end, I never had a family before, so Dahmaan is the first, and closest thing I have. Sure, she may not be a real, natural, human, but I don't care, no one here is normal, we're all broken in our own way, no? I'm just trying to live my life as best as I can. But I can tell when I am not needed, nor wanted around." Rain began to fall, it seemed strange that it occurred so often. "I guess I'll be seeing you when I see you." Miryn scowled, shouldering his dark blade, his boots crushing the grass under his feet.

Nehviir stood there for a moment, allowing him to leave with no regrets whatsoever. "Not my fault, it's on his own initiative," he said to what looked like air, "Yes I know- Hey, we did him a favor. Don't I li- Why must you make things complicated? Less people its si- You know I don't do well with physical affection... I really regret not making you a boy, sometimes." He waved a hand, "Miryn." He turned to face the older elf, knocking some raindrops out of his eyes. Nehviir walked to him, taking in a deep breath, "Dahmaan stubbornly requested me on her behalf to give you a hug as a sign of wanting you to stay with us." His arms widened, giving Miryn a tight hug that must've been plenty awkward for both of them. "If we didn't want you, you'd been an iceberg in the icy waters of Eastmarch by now."

Miryn chuckled. "I appreciate you saving my life, that much is true. But there is something I have to do, I'll be back soon, when you see me, I'll be a better man. I just have to find what I lost. I'll win the day. I need to shrug off this curse…So until that day, I bid you both adieu."

Nehviir smirked. "Kids these days. Even so, I feel just fine leaving the future to the youths of this generation." Even in the face of this new ray of hope, a deep darkness would stand in the trios way, and it would take all of their power to bring it down. The fight was only just beginning.


	5. Resolve

Part 5-Resolve

Rated T-We've been through this all

Disclaimer-Yeah yeah, Bethesda, shut up

Labyrinthian, the ancient ruins of legend, home of the Dragon Priest Morokei, and built by the legendary Arch-Mage Magnus, Miryn was standing before its massive, single, iron door, black as night even in the day. He stepped in, greeted by nothing but silence, even so, the air was charged, and no doubt, he wasn't the only one in here, of that he was sure. He sat down, produced some wood from his pack, and some flint, and struck away till it sparked. "Not my preferred accommodations, to be sure, but beggars can't be choosers." Miryn idly drummed his fingers on his thigh, running his other hand though his hair, he would definitely need to at least give it a light trim, no doubt about that. Eventually he began to nod off, keeping his blade close at hand, just in case.

He soon woke up, after only a mere few hours of sleep, feeling a strange presence. He knew he was alone, but things felt... Off. There was a small vibration, almost unnoticeable, but then it grew as did a familiar sound. Before he really knew it, he was tackled to the floor, a familiar blonde hugging him tightly. "YOU'RE BACK!" Dahmaan squealed, almost thrashing him around. "I NEED TO TELL NEHVIIR, I NEED TO TELL NEHVIIR!" She hopped off of him, dragging him behind her as she sprinted off. "Ok, I'm really confused…"Miryn was scratching his head…He let out a sigh though. He sat up, and folded one leg over the other, resting his arm over one leg. That begged the question, did the duo know ahead of time that he was heading here, or was it just some bizarre streak of luck? He stood up, debating his options. He could slip away, and continue on the mission he felt necessary, or he could stay for a while longer, and see where that took him. He had finally accepted Nehviir as a friend, and laid his trust with him. He stared into the depths of his fire, which was starting to dwindle, so he used magic to breath some new life into the flames, which cast deep shadows on the cavernous ceiling above him, he began to whistle. She slammed both fists against a metal door, obviously one that was newly made due to the drastic differences between it and everything else. "A little busy, here," Nehviir called from inside. "But, but, it's Miryn! He's back!" There was a loud bang, some shuffling. The door was cracked open, Nehviir peeking through, "Were you followed?" "Uh, no?" "I see," with that Nehviir slammed the door shut, undoing seven sets of locks before finally fully opening it, "Okay, you can stay if you wish."

"So, what exactly are you guys even doing here?" Miryn arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms, and sitting down, rubbing his eyes, and yawning, he had been walking all day, and was about to collapse when he made it to Labyrinthian. Miryn spoke again. "I was chasing some leads before I came up here, I had some success. But I'm still hunting. I have to know the truth about something pertaining to me. But here we are, together again. I don't think was just a simple coincidence however." "Mephala is tricky with that kind of stuff, no doubt. The two of us have been hiding from our little attacker for the last few months. Fortunately, I'm good in the art of playing dead. That's why I had to ask if you were being followed. She even got Dahmaan good, once." He nodded to her, Dahmaan opening a small, torn hole that revealed a small gash on her lower stomach. "Hopefully she's gone for good." Miryn let out a small gasp, Miryn reached towards it, "I can heal that, I know Restoration magic." He smiled, "That is, if you are willing." Dahmaan shrugged. "Your hair, you changed it Miryn, why?" The youth shrugged, "I felt like a change of pace, still have that flower though." He smiled. Something about him seemed lighter, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Dahmaan noticed. _One step closer to finding his light_, she thought. Hey, I brought you something, by the way." Miryn handed a small yellow baby bird to Dahmaan. "Take good care of it, he doesn't have a name yet, I figured I'd let you do the honors." She bit her lip, glancing back at Nehviir for a split second, "Sizann, I like it. It's kind of like you, really." She giggled, letting Miryn hold it, "It's a cute little one, isn't it?" "Now we just need to make it a little cage. If it does any of its business in my workspace, I will not be a happy little Chimmey." he raised a brow, "Where did you even find it?"

"In the wild, while I was searching for leads on my parents, the little thing was being chased by monsters, and this yellow fluff ball careens into me, and there I am, sitting there with a baby bird in my hands, with a pack of wolves surrounding us, so I put the little guy in my pocket, and get rid of the wolves, and I decided to give him to you." Miryn ruffled Dahmaan's locks, she chuckled. "So whats Miryn up to? I can't stay here long, I have things that need to be done, but I guess I'll stay for a few days." Miryn cringed as he brushed against something, sinking to his knees. His eyes were watering, with pain. Dahmaan caught him, holding him in her arms. She brushed hair out of his face, "Miryn? Miryn, are you okay?" She looked up to Nehviir who, mostly by instinct, casted a simple Detect Life spell before leaning over to the young Dunmer. "Shut the door," he told her, picking up Miryn in his hands and laying him out on his hands.

"He got attacked. That much is clear." Nehviir scowled, "No need to worry, I can fix this, I just need a bit of time, he'll be fine. Don't you worry." Dahmaan twisted one of her braids nervously, she was sweating. "Dahmaan, calm down, he'll be fine. Its still shallow, he shouldn't move though, this was inflicted by a dagger, if I had to guess, this would be the work of that "lovely" murderous red headed servant. I can fix this though, she didn't too great, unless it was deliberately done poorly. I am only theorizing though." Minutes later, Miryn was soundly asleep, his head in Dahmaan's lap. "Dahmaan..." He said slowly, "You did lock the doors, right?" She looked up at him, eyes wide and shocked. A small, can-like container rolled under the door, only a few inches away from them. "Run," Nehviir merely said, containing the gas that began to pour out. Dahmaan hoisted Miryn over her shoulders, Nehviir launching a fireball to make a makeshift tunnel for them. "Good at playing dead, eh?" The woman said, her voice slightly muffled through her cowl, "Or maybe you just don't know how to stay dead."

Dahmaan turned around, "I can't die, there is too much I still need to do." The woman continued her advance. "Yeah, loving that monster on your back?" Dahmaan gritted her teeth, he isn't a monster, dammit. Like you could ever understand, you're the monster here." The woman chuckled. "Maybe you're right, but all the same, the boy and I, we're the same, he just has yet to realize it, and when he does, that is where it will all end. He won't even recognize anymore by the time his powers reach their peak, killing him is a mercy, but you fail to see that, but I can see he is attempting to fix that." Dahmaan growled, "And how would you know all that?" She casually replied,"Because, I'm already one of those beasts."

Dahmaan stared at her in confusion, Nehviir taking this moment of opportunity to magically yank her out of the room and this time locking the door. He sprinted towards Dahmaan and the unconscious Miryn, making a hole barely wide enough for them to get through. "Go," he pushed them on, "I'll deal with her, try to throw her off our track. Dahmaan hesitated at first, but Nehviir pushed them in the right direction so he knew where to find them. After running into the depths, Dahmaan set Miryn down very gently…

The next question was...what now?


	6. Stuck with You

Part 7-Stuck with You

We don't Elder Scrolls, ugh

Rated T-You already know

Countless months had passed since the trio had last seen each other. Dahmaan refused to show herself again since the last time Miryn refused to headed out alone; as for Astene she had been similar, the difference being she'd always come back with gifts for a few days and spend the long, cold nights with her favorite Chimer. On one occasion, though, she had set out longer than usual. And this time, with a different results...

What Nehviir didn't know was that she had managed to establish a mental link to Miryn, and for reasons unbeknownst to him, she had set to follow him, escaping when he was preoccupied. Miryn meanwhile, was heading towards Morrowind, to gather leads, night was falling, so he began to construct a shelter.

When the construction had finished into a small little makeshift hut. Astene had waited until he must've gone to sleep before she crept in. She didn't mind going through his stuff, though she kept an eye in case he stirred. At one point she had pulled out a half empty bottle of wine, which she sniffed and declared to herself under her breath, "Disgusting." She dropped the bottle back in the sack, half wondering what she was even looking for. She noticed from the corner of her eyesight that he began to move around. Not wanting to take chances, she leapt away and hid not too far. He sat up, looking around in a foggy half awake reverie. "Must have been a small animal." He stretched, and then promptly flopped back down into his bedroll, sighing.

"I'm not that small," she huffed as soon as he went back to sleep. She stood over him, watching him for a long moment. "Even asleep, you still somehow manage to annoy me." She nudged his arm, wondering if he was faking it at this point. She turned on her heels, smirking to herself, "I'll check on you later. Don't worry though, I'll tell your pretty little blonde friend I said hello." She looked over her shoulder, gazing down on him. She then heard a voice from no clear source. _Astene?_ It was Miryn's, and then it her. The mental link she had established with him, she hadn't counted on him to actually figure out to communicate with her. _What are you doing here? _He "said", without so much as batting an eye, or stirring from his sleep. "Aw, shit," she took out her bow. For once, she hesitated. She felt herself stuck between the options of leaving and killing him. Obviously it wouldn't be that simple, she wasn't that arrogant. But who knew what he'd do to her if he had awakened.

_You assume I am here to fight, make no mistake, I just would like to know what exactly you are planning, and why you were fishing through my belongings?_ Astene growled, "Can you at least sit up, and wake the hell up?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. _Fine. _Miryn stretched, yawning, shaking his head, his bangs in his face, obscuring his eyes. "Now then...Any reason you were tailing me?" Miryn crossed his arms. "Any reason you weren't... Er..." She nodded her head as if trying to prove some point, "Doing something bad? I don't fucking know, I get bored! What do you do when you're bored? Hm?" She turned away, sheathing her bow. "You haven't even wrote to us," she turned away from him, letting out a loud, over exaggerated sigh. Miryn arched an eyebrow, "You of all people actually care as to whether I write you three?" He chuckled. "It's not like I've been trying to avoid you, I have things of a personal nature that need my attention, for the good of all four of us…"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure," she waved a hand before slowly clamping it over her mouth, "For the sake of the world, the universe, yada yada... I heard you the first time. But... Just thinking about your little blonde ghost-friend-thing person, still all choked up about you leaving and such, almost brings a tear to my eye... Well, almost." She turned back to Miryn, a small smirk on her face. "But, I should let you get back to your... Whatever you're doing. Ciao." Miryn thought it about it for a few. "Wait, I could use another sword arm, don't get the wrong idea, I just need an able partner." Miryn smirked." Astene turned around, "I thought you didn't need someone at your side? So whats the deal?" Miryn remained silent. Astene gazed down for a moment, she bit her tongue down hard, "Fine, but I have rules. Your hands and weapons stay where I see them, I will not take your shit, and if we come across any sort of money or treasure, we split it. Half to me, half to you. Deal?" She offered her hand out.

Miryn reluctantly took it. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get some sleep." Miryn turned away from her, her only companion being her silence. She pulled out a knife, and began tossing it as it traced a series of arcs, with her catching it repeatedly. Miryn began muttering in his sleep. "Dreaming...Or so it seems. Now that I think on it, I am privy to his dreams…"She tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully. She tried to make herself more comfortable, "Damn this tent is way too small," she growled as she attempted to make herself more comfortable.

Miryn woke up late into the morning. He stumbled out of the tent, almost completely forgetting about what had happened earlier into the night. Astene was already up before him, launching ordinary arrows into a nearby tree. "Finally," she scoffed as she saw him, "I could've sworn you died." She rolled her eyes, adding under her breath, "More money for me."

"You have a nice face, but your personality is less than beautiful…" Miryn sighed, shrugging. "Just come on, yeah? We have a long road ahead." She groaned, taking the few regular arrows she had and stowing it away in her bag, "Fine. Where are we even heading to anyway? Maybe somewhere more... Bearable?" She took of her hood, wiping off some of the sweat that gathered along her brow. Miryn turned to face her, "Ever been to Valenwood?" Miryn asked, crossing his arms, "Well, if not, a few things you should know, they take the Green Pact VERY seriously, what that means for us is nothing that by their definition that would equate to desecration of their woods. Thats really all there is to it, they are easily one of the more laid back races."

"I don't care," she let out a mocking laugh, "I take my bow very seriously, but if someone breaks it I'll just make myself a new one. But thanks for the tip, though. I'll, er, keep that mind, I guess." She waved a hand, snickering to herself as she walked on. "Seriously, though, where are we going? I don't have a map, so the pressure's on you."

"Well to get to Valenwood, we'll have to go through Cyrodiil once we get to the southern border of Skyrim. Its going to take quite a while though, but thankfully, I have quite a few septims under my name, so long as you don't do anything stupid, or test me, there will be no worries about this journey, understand? As it is, I am stuck with you, both mentally, and physically, so I suppose we could try and make the best of it." Miryn smiled. "OR, or, or you could drop me off at Cyrodiil? If things aren't going good you can just drop me off there and come get me when you're heading back to Skyrim. I do miss my little Chimey," she giggled at the thought of Nehviir, "Because, and let's face it, we don't mix. Like, at all. And I don't see that changing, so let's just try and get there as quickly as possible, okay little one?"

"Little one, eh? Very well, I hope you can keep up with me, I don't plan on stopping much, so I hope you have good endurance." _Little one, thats the last thing I expected to hear from her lips, it could be she cares, so she's merely preying on my desires. As always, I had best keep my guard up around her… _Miryn moved on, always stopping at one point or another to keep tabs on his companion of sorts, he was torn on dumping her off in Cyrodiil, but if thats what she desired, who was he to deny it? She often asked how long they were from Cyrodiil, getting antsy as they drew closer to the southern border. "We need to hurry, need to get there soon," she often spoke to herself under her breath, "I'm coming for ya, Lida." When the sun was soon enough setting down along the horizon, stars slowly popping out, she almost collapsed against the ground, "You're not willing to travel through the night, are you?"

Miryn helped her up, "Of course not, we'll find an inn, just a little longer, alright? I'm getting pretty tired as it is myself." The duo approached an inn, where Miryn set down the exhausted Astene, getting a room for them. Once he had received the key, he walked over to Astene, quietly whispering. "Hey, we got a room, come and rest in there, I assure you will be nicer in there." As they walked into the room, Miryn was grateful the beds weren't lined with straw, he breathed a sigh of relief, holding the unconscious Astene in one of the beds, with him taking another. "You're pretty light for a woman with such a dominant impression."

"Yeah, helps me hide in the trees and bushes and whatnot," she snuggled up in the bed, taking one of the pillows and hugged them to her chest, "How do you think I managed to sneak up on you and your friends all those times? The lighter, the better." Her vision began to blur, she stretched her arms, "How much longer until Cyrodiil? We need to get there fasJet

"We're getting close, if I had to guess, three more days. You can last that long, I'm sure." Miryn sighed flinging himself on the other bed, staring at the stars of Cyrodiil, finding it harder to keep his eyes open, he fell asleep to the sound of Astene's gentle breathing.

Astene had forced herself awake as the sun was beginning to rise. She stumbled her way across the room, her eyes barely opened wide enough to see Miryn. "Hey, you," she nudged Miryn's shoulder, "We gotta get home... We gotta wake up..." Her head slowly lowered to the floor, "Nice floor, pretty floor... Fluffy floor..." Miryn stirred a bit, uttered something incomprehensible bar one word, and slowly got up, placing his boots on his feet wordlessly, he hadn't bothered to remove his socks, he fumbled with his black boots until they were securely on his feet. "Rise and shine, Miryn, almost there…" He let out a great yawn, looking over the half awake redhead, "Do you even know where you are right now?" "I'll beat your mother's boot," she growled, before curling up. Miryn shook his head awake, lifting the girl over his shoulder before heading out. Despite how strange it must've looked, he didn't want to hear her dogging on him for not getting a move on.

When she came to, she and Miryn were on horse drawn cart, with the mighty White Gold Tower casting a brilliant golden glow as a result of the sun bathing all of the Imperial City. And it was breathtaking, every time Astene laid her eyes on it, it never was any less beautiful to her. Miryn didn't disrupt her reverie, for he shared it as well, even in light of the High Elven oppression, and the assassination of the Emperor Titus Mede II, some things remained unshaken.

"Now to the Imperial City," she announced, "There, if you don't already know where to go, I will direct you to the Market and you can go and do whatever you want to do. Me, I have my own little demons to face." She sighed, "Parents." She gave him a sideways glance, "And, if I had to give you anything, you're not so annoying after a while... Just between you and me, of course. Don't want people thinking I'm going soft."

"Of course not, and parents eh, at least you have parents to actually go and talk to, and a family. I don't have really any of those things, but thats enough about me, I didn't have anyone to care for me, make sure I went down the wrong path, and so on." He shook his head, "It never mattered though really, I just would have liked to have someone like a parent for just once in my life..." She laid a friendly arm around him, "Let me show you the beauty of parenthood. My mom had me when she was barely of age, now look at me. I kill, I hunt, I prey, for money."

"Ok, so maybe it isn't so great for some people, but the attempt I have to imagine is what counts. And trust me, I'm not a good guy either." He heard Miranne's voice in his head. _Sounds to me like you're getting attracted to her, no?_ Miryn chose to ignore her. "So uh, I'll leave you to whatever you need to do, and I guess I'll catch you when I'm on my way back from my journey, so, take care of yourself, Astene." Miryn smiled.

"Later," she without another glance, holding up a hand. She watched as Miryn walked onward, heading the opposite way as her. She watched as he was submerged into the usual large crowds of the Imperial City. When he was completely out of sight, only then did she let out a heavy sigh and head on to her own path.

As Miryn was walking in the opposite direction, Miranne pointed out that something was clearly bothering Astene. "We'll figure it out when we come back to grab her on the return trip. _So you're just going to ignore this, thats pretty inconsiderate. _"Look, Astene is one of those types of people who don't really care for those who butt into their affairs, I have to let her handle this herself, plus I need to stock up on supplies, we are far from done with this journey." Miryn busied himself with the gathering of food, poisons, weapons, and other consumables, whiling the day away eventually to the point where the sun was cresting the hills, bathing the city in a reddish hue.

Miryn was just about to set out of the city, double checking to make sure he had everything he needed. He felt a cold hand grab his shoulder, swinging him around. To his surprise, it was a shaky, red-eyed Astene. Her make up was smeared and her lips slightly trembled. "Have room for one more? There's been a change in plans," she strained for her voice to sound as normal as possible, "I kind of have nowhere else to go for now." Miryn held out his arms, even the toughest of people can crack. "What happened?" He said, pulling her into his embrace. She only shook her head, keeping everything seemingly intact. "I'm sorry," she said after a long moment, "For being a bitch and all. I just do what I need to do to help someone special to me. Now... I just don't think I'm welcomed anytime soon." She hugged him back, digging her head in his shoulder. Once they finally pulled away, her mind shot back to her image, "Tell anyone and I'll hit you." Miryn tapped his foot, "My lips are sealed. So what say you and I find a place to settle down for the evening, no?"

That said, their attempt to do didn't go without a hitch. Someone was tailing them, Astene had failed in her given mission, and now someone was needed to do the dirty work, and it was a matter of simply biding one's time, watching, and waiting. This individual licking their lips in anticipation. And so the hunt began anew.

Miryn slept soundly that night, only being awakened by Astene's hand covering his mouth. "Don't make a sound," she whispered in his ear, "We're being followed. If they're are here for what I think, stay here. Just pretend you're still sleeping." She slipped herself off of him, bow and arrows ready as she slipped outside. She cast her gaze around, trying to spot the rat bastard that was tailing them. "Over here," a voice said, belonging to a robed figure, with eyes that were an ethereal blue. "And what exactly do you want?" Astene asked, though she had a feeling she knew the answer. "You let the feelings you have for that Dunmer boy cloud your judgment. So Lady Mephala sent me to clean up the mess you have made out of this little mission, nothing personal." He smirked, echoing Astene.

"I should've known they would send you," she showed a grimace, before her expression softened as her body drew closer to the figure's, "Now, now, here I am thinking you missed me, too. You know how I am, I like to play with my food before I go in. You remember, don't you? I'd hunt them down while you go for the kill. Heh, thinking back on it, it feels like forever ago... Just you and me. You really think some target will get the best of me? You should know, out of everyone, I do what I can to gain trust. We can take him down and find his petty friends, eh? I've already got them tracked and everything! What do you say... Partner?" Her eyes gleamed with a familiar passion as her face leaned closer, a small smile stretched across her face. What Astene didn't know was that Miryn had been listening to the whole conversation. "Astene! You can't seriously be considering this, did the things we experience up to this moment mean nothing to you?" He was trying to keep the tears down. "I thought we had become friends, I see now that is not the case…"

She placed a hand against her friend's chest, an evil smile coming across her face, "Oh, little one, don't you see? It's not you and me against the world, it's you against me and my friends. We've experienced some things, sure, but loyalty comes first before friends. Now, think about all the things I've done and ask yourself if trusting me was smart. With my little companion at my side again, you should be just as worried for your friends' sake." She turned to her friend, "Isn't that right, pumpkin? You'll take me back, right?" What Astene didn't expect was a blow so ferocious that sent her flying a ways down the stone road. Miryn eyes were glowing a bright red. He was low to the ground, teeth gritted, and he was winding up for another strike. Astene's companion remarked how Miryn had lost it. Miryn ignored him, and homed in on Astene. He gripped her by the throat. "Maybe I was a fool, and in the end, it could never be...But even if for a moment. I wanted us to just be friends, were you planning this all along?" She laughed for a long moment, a mocking grin across her face, "I don't kiss and tell, sweetie pie." She launched her knee up to his chin, pushing her away from his grasp. She fell onto the ground, whipping her cape over her and vanished almost all at once.

_So thats it then. I never should have trusted her, not much else to do really...You know, maybe I should just fade. Maybe everything that ever happened to me was a lie. I can't bring myself to show my face to Dahmaan and Nehviir, not after this…_

A year and a half would pass, and old wounds would heal, but the painful memories would remain, in the depths of Miryn's mind. Eventually he would return to Skyrim to find those he called his friends. And to his surprise, not a cave, but a normal house, in Solitude. It took him a few minutes after working the courage to knock on the door. Soon enough, on the other side of the threshold was Dahmaan, who held no warm smile at him, but wide eyes and a fist to his face. "NEHVIIR!" she shouted after slamming the doors. At first it started as fast, harsh whispering then slowly evolved into yelling. Nehviir opened the door only a crack, his eye looking everywhere before meeting Miryn's. "Are you alone- Actually alone?" he asked, then decided it was all a waste of time, "Nevermind, just come in." Miryn sighed, and stepped over the threshold. He set down his belongings. Miryn was silent for the most part, just taking it all in. Someday, he'd get revenge on Astene, he could still sense her out there, that traitorous bitch...His blood boiled whenever he thought of her.

Nehviir set down a tray filled with the strangely formed and odd colored treats. "I am a master of the arts of alchemy, I have unimaginable power and can even manipulate the things around me," he let out a heavy sigh, "Yet I cannot make a sweetroll to save my life." He sat down across from Miryn, taking notice of the younger man's silence, "You're awfully quiet. What? Something go amiss on your grand adventure?" Miryn ran a hand through his hair. "I suppose you could say that…" He clenched his hands into fists, his eyebrows furrowing, the pain of the betrayal resurfacing. Miranne told him that it was best if he let it go, but try as he might, he just couldn't.

"At first I thought you were just upset over You-Know-Who. She's just having a fit, is all. Nothing completely new," he shrugged, before leaning back, "So... How was everything? Where did you go to, anyhow? Sorry, sorry, my mind is old and I forget things every now and then. Ironic, isn't it?"

"I went through Black Marsh, Morrowind, Cyrodiil, Valenwood, and that was it really. It wasn't as exciting as you would think. I thought about maybe even heading off to Akavir, cuz thats where the Nerevarine was last spotted, but I decided against in light of the habits of its residents. So all in all, not much went down." Nehviir arched an eyebrow. "You don't seriously expect me to believe that do you, a lot must have happened to completely change the way you carry yourself, and your outlook on things, there is something you aren't telling me… Which reminds me, have you heard from our little redheaded friend? I haven't heard from her in a few months, can't tell if she's busy or mad at me."

Dahmaan had come down from her bedroom, heading in the direction of the kitchen. In the time Miryn had been gone, her appearance had changed just as much as his. She had changed into some tavern clothes to help her blend in, as well as cut her hair a few inches and had it over her shoulder. "Drinks?" she stiffly offered, throwing a glare in the boys' general direction. "Ah come on, Dahmaan, don't be like that!" Miryn said, in an attempt to segue out of Nehviir's question about Astene. He had cared for that woman the same way he did Dahmaan, and she ripped his heart out, so to speak. "I take that as a no, then," she simply ignored him, coming back to hand Nehviir some mead. "Dahmy, we've talked about this," he warned her, though she replied angrily, "You talked about it, I simply disagreed with everything."

"Teenagers," Nehviir groaned, "If you're going to act like that, go to your room." She huffed, stomping away back up the stairs. "I'm sorry, she's not usually like this. Though I think we can guess why..." He looked to Miryn, "I believe you two have some things that need to be said, no?" Miryn sighed, "More or less, I suppose. I'll go see what's up." He stood up, stretched, and made his way up the stairs, to the one closed door in the hallway, which he assumed was Dahmaan's, he went and knocked, the door was flung open, with a very irritated Dahmaan by it. "What do you want?" She crossed her arms, tapping her foot irritably, "Presents are going to fix anything this time, y'know. So go off again and leave, like always, because I know that's what you're going to do." Her eyes burned with anger, for a moment Miryn realized she must feel just as hurt of him leaving as he was of Astene's betrayal. Miryn spoke up. "Look, I'm going to try and justify why I left, yes I should have told you, but I was younger, and much more stupid, I let my ego get in the way, and I never forgot about you." He said, producing Dahmaan's flower from his abundant grey locks, still in the same pristine condition as it was when he received it.

She turned her head for a second, her heart slowly melting at the sight of it. She bit her lip, throwing her arms around his neck. She let out a couple tears, sniffing the air unevenly. "It's... It's just not fair how you upped and left without a second thought. I worried for days and days, then... I just stopped." Miryn sighed, "I can't say I blame you...Something's happening out there, dark mockeries of life are appearing, they weren't Daedra, and I was attempting to gather information of what they were, which was fruitless, something is changing though...Wherever they passed over, nothing was left but ash. I made a new ally though, to replace what I had lost…I just want to keep this world's light intact. But I'll make this all up to you."

"You better keep to it, Miryn," she got aggressive once more, poking a finger at his chest, "And I'll be waiting on it. As for what you saw, Nehviir has being seeing the same things too. Well, not literally up close to them, but you know what I mean. He's been worried about everyone over in Morrowind. He doesn't say anything, but I know how he is." Miryn cleared his throat, deliberating over as to whether to bring up Astene's betrayal, ultimately he let it go. He laid back on Dahmaan's bed, letting out a long sigh, his hair obscuring his eyes, Dahmaan chuckled mischievously, rubbing her hands together. She crawled behind him on the bed, curling up against some pillows. She reached over to flick his nose, "So how was everything? You seemed exhausted. Did you see anything exciting? I haven't been anywhere other than here and Morrowind. Very boring, actually..."

Miryn chuckled, "I saw Valenwood, beautiful place, canopies of trees so thick that the sun barely reaches the ground, vibrant colors across literally every spectrum, it was amazing. Cyrodiil was beautiful too, but something happened there that I'd rather not talk about as it is..." She smiled sadly to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We already know, it's okay. She came by not too long after it happened and told us what had happened. She ditched her friend, but he didn't go down without a fight. Guess he doesn't take rejection to well. She was badly injured, stayed with us for a couple nights, now I'm not what's going on between her and Nehviir. He can be thick when he wants to, I swear."

Miryn scowled. "I have nothing to say to her if she swings by again, if she truly wants to make up for what she did to me, there is only one way she can, and thats going to be in blood." He growled, gritting his teeth. "If I had gotten the chance too, no doubt I would have killed her back then, slipped a sword between her ribs…I thought she was a good person, but then again, I was never the greatest judge of character…Everything about that woman is a lie." "She tried to help you. She didn't want any blood to be spilt. She double-crossed you, so she can later double-cross her friend and have him off both of your trails. Don't you see?" A tender hand stroked his hair as she sat up, "She was doing something that could've potentially killed both of you just to keep you safe."

"I'm not even really sure what to say to that." Miryn said. "But if that is indeed the case, talk about some deception. She opened up to me on that same day, I have to wonder if any of that was genuine...I mean, I care for her the same way I do you, even now, but I am pretty torn up over this…" "Well, if you're that curious, maybe talk to Nehviir? I know you two aren't the closest, but he knows just about everything about her. And... Advice, try not to mention the whole 'care for her the same you do for me' because I'm not entirely sure what they are right now..." She shrugged, "Just a suggestion to keep in mind, I know how you are."

Miryn chuckled. "Hehe, indeed." He said, gripping Dahmaan and kissing her on the lips. Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad after all...

Things had begun to brighten up for Miryn. Everything was peaceful, quiet, and him and Dahmaan had managed to make up for lost time. Miryn had woken up early the next morning, while everyone else was still sleeping. He stretched his arms, leaving the bed to grab something. He went downstairs, raving through the cupboards when there was a large crash not too far from him. He rushed to where it was, a part of him wondering if it was some low-life thief. To his surprise, and to some extent anger, there laid a wide eyed, messy haired Astene wearing nothing but what he recognized to be one of Nehviir's shirts. "Hey friend..." She put on a nervous smile, "Now, you're probably still mad about the whole blowout back in wherever we were." Miryn conjured his blade, Shadowbinder, and pressed the jet black steel against the woman's throat. "I have half a mind to murder right here and now, but at the same time, I owe you my life, and thats the only reason I stayed my hand." He let out a sigh. "I'm just tired, of all the betrayals, and fighting, just one day of my life, I'd like to have zero stress."

Astene sniffed the air stiffly, crossing her arms, "You know, I believe a thank you is more in order. Maybe something a little more valuable for my taste... As for being tired of betrayals? I'm sorry, do correct me if I'm wrong, isn't betrayal, deceit, and that sort kind of Mephala's thing? Might want to stick to Mara's crew if you want to do that sort of shit. But, this is the real world and you should know better." She stood up, wiping the invisible dirt off her shoulder, "Now, what do we say to the nice killer lady who just happened to save you?" She smirked.

" ." Miryn growled, eye twitching. Right now, it took all his self control not to scream in rage, confusion, and the odd twinge of sexual tension. He took a deep breath, heading towards the sitting room, staring absentmindedly into the glowing fireplace set into the wall. "Don't be so down about it. Think of it as hugging my intestines with kindness, if you will." She leaned against the doorway, the shirt coming up and showing off her pale, slender legs. For an Imperial, she was quite tall for her race. "Now, tell me, are you really still mad at me about the whole thing? I really thought you saw my signals telling you to back down."

Miryn snapped."OK, .IT. Can you please, pull your shirt down?" His face was flushed red, as he attempted to avoid staring at the woman's figure. Eventually he just shut his eyes, as Astene chuckled deviously. "What? You haven't seen legs before? You know, those things I use to walk with. Be thankful this is all it's showing," she chuckled, "Calm down, at least I have this. Not showing anymore than we want to see, right?"

"YES. I have seen legs, and damn, you are a tease like no other." His bare yet slightly scarred back facing Astene. He ran his hands through his hair. "So...hows the family?"Miryn questioned, drumming his fingers on his thigh. He had little else that he could ask, and his composure was steadily wavering, and he had a feeling that Astene was privy to this. He took deep breaths, as taught by the temple he had spent most of his time within during his youth. "Terrible, almost all of them," she said shortly, grimacing at the thought of her parents, "Now, aside from the small talk, do you want to get back to sleep? I know I have a little friend who is currently waiting on me, but I'm not moving an inch unless you want to go get some more sleep."

Miryn shook his head. "I'm not really tired, my sleep habits haven't been right in years...No idea why. All those times we stopped on the way to Cyrodiil, I did it for you, if it was just me I could have gone on for way longer. Not really sure thats a good thing. But it is certainly useful." "How romantic," she tonelessly muttered, rolling her eyes, "I suppose this is also the part where you tell me you have some sort of weird connection to me, then we make sweet, tender love as well?" She raised a brow.

Miryn smirked. "Thats up to you, sweetcheeks." He chuckled, turning the tables. He lit up a fire spell in his hand, let it burn for a few moments before snuffing it out due to boredom. "I mean, I personally wouldn't mind." He laughed. "No, but I'm sure our special friends upstairs would," she smirked, "The idea of lovemaking in front of a roaring fire sounds nice, but I have someone in mind for that. Maybe if, y'know, this was at an earlier time. Just, maybe."

Miryn smirked. "You never know, the impossible happens all the time." Miryn had a mischievous glint in his eye. "Only if you let it. And, sadly, I like my relationship," she sat in a nearby seat, leaning back as she crossed her legs, "As long as your hands and legs stay where I can see them, we'll have no problem on this subject."

Miryn let out a long sigh, "Fine. And people say I'm paranoid. In any case, the offer is out there, never pictured you to be the type to go for older men, though. But thats none of my business if it satisfies you, but know this, Nehviir won't last forever, and Dahmaan wont either, sadly." "And we will?" she arched a brow, "It's not going to happen, and if Nehviir can survive this long without being killed then I doubt it'll be that easy to get rid of him. I happen to like where things are, and from the sound of things, you do too. So, let's do each other a favor and not mess it up." She smiled, "Okay?"

Miryn nodded silently, completely expressionless. "I'll be back in a few, so uh, I dunno, sit tight, I guess?" "I'll be waiting," she stretched her legs across the seat, moving around to find a comfortable position, "Just don't keep me waiting too long."

"I suppose…" Miryn stepped out into the early morning air, blinking his eyes. Miranne materialized. "What kind of game are you playing at? I can't believe your behavior in there! Does the word faithful mean anything to you? You should be ashamed of what you just did in there!" Miryn sighed. "Point taken, look, its not like I can do it with Dahmaan, sexual tension is a bitch, surely you can understand that." "And surely you can understand how hurt Dahmaan will be when she finds out about your little behavior!" She huffed, "Thank Akatosh one of you had sense or else you would've probably dug yourself a grave! What about that aren't you understanding?"

"Touche, I suppose you have a point, but I know for one that Dahmaan doesn't need to know about this…" "She's going to find out. She has to, you know that. If she did the same thing, wouldn't you want to know?" She crossed her arms, "If you leave for a long time, come back, and this is what you do to her?"

"Yes I know I messed up, no need to stress it." Miryn grumbled, crossing his arms. "I have to ask, what made you decide to latch on to me once you died?"

She sighed, "Because I know you can barely last without me. Look at some of the things you done, then look at my advice. You gotta trust me when I say I'm only here to help, okay? Now that I answered your question, it's time you answered mine: What are you going to do about this?" Miryn shrugged. "It's not like I'm omniscient, I have no idea, honestly. I'm open to ideas here." "Well, there always the option of telling her. I mean, yeah, you'll get shit for it, but at least you can say in the end you were honest. At least she can ask that much."

"Hey, Dunmer," Astene stepped through, this time wearing more than just a shirt, "While you're out here talking to yourself which, believe me, I don't plan on questioning, I want to say I'm sorry. I was harsh and I can't really you for wanting, and that's not me being arrogant. Yeah, I know I'm pretty attractive and all, but did you see the way I was dressed? I'm sorry about that, just between you and me." Miryn turned towards her. "Its not a big deal, but can you do me one favor, and then I'll be set." "That depends," she slowly leaned away, before a teasing smile crept along, "Do you need another moment or something? Or did you want something else?" She raised a brow at this, laughing to herself. "No need for a moment, just a simple kiss, you can at least swing that, no?" Miryn questioned.

She rolled her eyes, "Fine, but just this once." She kissed her fingertips and tapped it on Miryn's lips. When he gave her a stern look, she let out a loud groan, "Oh, that should so count..." She yanked him by the shoulders, pulling him close as she crushed her lips against his.

"Wow, you have really soft lips." Miryn commented. "I'm going to try and have to remember this one forever." "Go try to drown and maybe, just maybe, lightning will strike twice. Now if you're done..." She turned on heel, "I recommend not being out here too much longer, who knows who's watching..." She gave him a sharp look, "And to especially find both of us, at that."

"You're right, well, I never thought I'd actually say this, but its good that you came back. What did you do after Cyrodiil after you tricked your "ally"?" Miryn arched an eyebrow out of curiosity. "Well, I snuck into my parents' home once more to give one last special goodbye," she mumbled, "For once without ending up killing somebody. Then I came here, had another run in with my little friend, but Nehviir might have came and... Well, he saved me. I stuck around a little longer because I wasn't in any condition to leave, but once I did I came back every a couple months for some toxins he's kind enough to make for me and so we can have a little catching up, if you know what I mean." She laughed at the last part.

"Wow, nice. I'll be back later though, I got something I want to actually look into, I'm following up on a lead I got in Morrowind." Miryn explained. "Take care of yourself, sweetie. Just don't be gone too long or else your little friend might just hunt you down," Astene smiled, turning back, "And don't come back with any visitors. You know how Nehviir is about those." She laughed to herself, locking the doors behind her.

"Heh, yeah…"

A/N-I think that was the longest one, yet, whew…


	7. Rising Fool

Part 8-Rising Fool

Rated T+ Had to bump it up

I don't own Elder Scrolls, Bethesda does.

Miryn had set out all day, stopping by every now and then to follow up on his lead. The dark monstrosities were beginning to spread, taking out small villages and eventually a full fledged city. Whatever they were, they were spreading. Fast. They were slowly popping up all over Morrowind, and Miryn was ready to solve this mystery…

When he sped towards the source, there was a shadowy mass gathering in energy, the sky turning dark. "No doubt that this thing can be destroyed, maybe not easily, but thankfully…"He produced his blade, the Shadowbinder, and for good measure, the Illumina, which he acquired only recently from a lesser goddess. The Stormcloaks came running, bows leveled at Miryn, so now they believed that he was the summoner of these atrocious fiends, simply for the fact that he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

A few arrows were shot not too far from him, picking off the soldiers one by one. Miryn looked around to see where this archer had come from, but nobody was there. For a split second he thought it was Astene, but soon shook it off as he remembered where he last saw her. He only hoped whoever it was, they continued to watch his back. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Look, I can explain myself." He began.

"I'm sure you can, while you're sitting in the Solitude dungeons." One of the guards growled, smacking him upside the head with the butt of his blade, Miryn's vision exploded into stars, at that point something happened, the dark abyss was spawning something else, a massive, insect-like demon. "Oh hell." Miryn muttered. He ran towards a guard, bringing his hands up and grabbing their steel dagger, slicing free of his bindings. "If you don't let me help you, you'll all die!" Miryn shouted. "And why would we need help from a Dunmer like you?" the guard growled, "You better back down before we take you down along with these things!" He snatched back his dagger, turning his back on Miryn and running for a group of nearby demons. Perhaps needless to say, but he was dropped in a fraction of a second.

"See! I told you what would happen, but nooooo, you had to go play the hero, and died an idiots death." Miryn ran vaulted over one of them, this one looked vaguely feline, brandishing an enormous axe, and brought his blade to bear right with its head. But the biggest one of all was still present, the insect. The insect itself was not too different from a Chaurus hunter, though there were distinct differences. This one spat out a thick, acidic liquid along with swiping trees and homes clean with its sharp arms and legs. Arrows were being launched at its torso, which was basically a huge, thick shield. It would seem it was impossible to kill. Miryn gritted his teeth, he was most likely going to die here, and there was not a damn thing he could about it, maybe it'd just be easier to let it go that way...He closed his eyes, and waited for the monstrosity to turn on him, but it never occurred. The woman that had given him the Illumina had appeared in the nick of time. "My champion, what are you doing?" She had restrained the fiend with a field of light. The goddess Lux, of divine light and inner strength. Miryn smirked, "Didn't expect you to show your face, being a god and all." Lux smiled. "I am not as fickle as the rest of my brethren, though they don't view me as an equal themselves. But all the same, I am here to help."

"Well, thats a small comfort I guess, now lets take this son of a bitch down, and seal this dark mess." Miryn drew a blade, slicing at the legs while Lux buffeted it with spells and sword strikes with her Lustrous Blade. "Lux, look out!" Miryn shouted, as the Chaurus like demon began spewing its acidic venom everywhere. Miryn had managed to shield the goddess from the caustic substance, he was was gritted his teeth as the substance started releasing small steam trails from his back. "Well, I got you, so thats good enough." He managed to stagger to his feet. Lux mentioned how he was certainly not going to be able fight in his current condition, and she was right, he could barely hold his blades as it is, his breathing was turning ragged. "Lets just get this over with."

He started to press forward, but Lux caught him, "No, you need to get some help. You're hurt, so look for someone who can heal you up." Miryn fought against it, which caused her to become aggressive, "We'll need more than two to just take this thing on. If we lose you, that's one less man to help fight against it. Go!" Miryn nodded, he needed help. _Astene, can you hear me? I need you to get over here, as well as Nehviir and Dahmaan, I'm in a bad state…_

There was a long silence, he wondered if she even paid attention. He fell to his knees, hunched over to catch his breath. "You called?" He heard Astene's cocky voice, "Told you to be careful, but you never seem to listen." She helped him up, carrying him over to Nehviir and Dahmaan, who were just now catching up. "Thank you for telling me you were going off," Dahmaan snapped, though Nehviir cut her off, "Dahmy, not now. He's hurt badly and I'm going to need him calm and relaxed." She sighed, before taking noticed of the large insect, "What is that?"

"Some sort of demon." Lux commented, "I've been trying to figure out what's been going around creating the portals that have been spawning these beasts, if they are allowed to continue, I fear for Tamriel's future. Thats why I enlisted Miryn as my champion of divine light. He had managed to overcome much to become the being he is now." "So you're the reason he goes on annoying philosophical ramblings?" Astene interjected, "Great, y'know, we can't get a Divine that can end this but we get some random chick that's as clueless as we are." Her and Lux traded sharp looks, as if a fight was already set to take. "Astene," Nehviir growled as he closed up Miryn's wounds, "At least hold off until we get our primary situation under control." "Fine, but you owe me tonight." She couldn't help but smile.

Lux sighed. "If you must know, I am actually a Daedra, I wasn't always one, the greater Daedra shunned me, but I don't honestly care,"she created a barrier to block the strikes of the rampant monster. "As for Miryn's frequent waxing of philosophical, thats just how he has been for a long time." She sighed, and managed to dice said monster to almost death with a blade of luminous energy, dispelling the darkness, and shutting the dark gateway, no guarantees that there wouldn't be more, but things were safe for now, so they could rest easy,well not quite, while further wouldn't come here, there was still this monster around. Astene still kept an unimpressed look, "So... You're Meridia's little sister nobody pays attention to? Hell, she could actually help more than you already. I didn't even ask fo-" "Please stop fighting," Dahmaan spoke up, standing between Lux and Astene, "We can't solve anything if not even we are working together." Astene growled.

"Fine, but lets be honest, I'm not a fan of this situation, I mean who the hell is this random ass woman who barged into Miryn's life?" Astene growled, firing arrows at the nigh invincible beast. Dahmaan bit her tongue to resist a quip, keeping an eye on Miryn, who was unconscious, resting from the exertion, and the pain from his freshly healed burns. She took Nehviir's placed by the unconscious Miryn's side, keeping a suspicious eye on Astene. Nehviir placed a calm hand on her shoulder, his way of calming the youngest of the group. "So, do we have any ideas for a strategy?" He turned to Lux, slightly bowing, "You have my trust and my help, my lady." Astene mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes at his gesture, "Suck up..."

"Well, the thing is, that monster is just about dead. That said, it is going to shift to guarding itself, as it is far from stupid. Give me a moment to think." She pondered for a minute, and then came up with an idea, it was a gamble, but it had to be something she was willing to do, and she was. She lowered herself to the ground, glowing in a golden aura, which was enough to stir Miryn. Dahmaan stared in awe. Miryn smirked. "Making miracles." Everyone with the obvious exception of Astene was dumbfounded. She pulled up her cowl, heading on without the rest. "I'm sorry," he bowed his head to Lux, keeping it there for a moment, "This is... Well, she's like this on a good day sadly." He raised his head, smiling up at her.

Lux placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well at least a few of you are polite, Miryn has found himself quite the motley little ragtag group, no doubt about that. But so long as they care for each other, I can breath easy, I suppose. Now then…"Lux used a massive burst of energy to finish off the Chaurus like beast, collapsing to her knees from the exertion, Miryn approached her and hoisted her up. "Come on, lets get you somewhere where you can rest." Dahmaan eyed him suspiciously, "It's not like that Dahmaan, she's more of a mother figure." Miryn clarified.

"I'll remember that," she gave him a sideways glance, "Follow me." She lead the group to a hollowed out cave, not too far from where they previously took guard. "There's more out there," Nehviir commented, "Here is probably safe for her to get rest, but we can still see what else those things have." He took Lux from Miryn's arms, laying her on the ground, "For her, she needs rest." Miryn leaned against a wall. "I think I need to rest too, holy shit that took a lot out of me." Miranne materialized. "You need to tell her about your transgression with Astene, its either now, or never." Miryn nodded. "Alright...Give me a second." Miranne smiled, "You're doing the right thing." Miryn walked towards Dahmaan, nervously clearing his throat. "Umm, Dahmaan?" She turned and smiled. "I uh...um. Astene and I...we kinda kissed, but thats all we did. You probably want to beat the hell out of me, and honestly, I can't say I blame you." He closed his eyes, inevitably waiting for the impact.

"I don't think it's Dahmaan you should be worrying about right now," said Nehviir through gritted teeth, eyes almost literally a lit fire. His fists were clenched shut, towering over the younger boy, "I will have to... Keep this information in mind for future references." Dahmaan finally pushed her way through the Chimer, tears burning her eyes, "Coming back was a big- No, THE biggest mistake you have made." She didn't bother meeting his eyes now, "Go find Astene. Tell her she can't come back to Solitude with us." Miryn scowled. "So thats it, then? Alrighty, thats all said, and good. Fine, shall we go, Lux?" Miryn said, oddly flippantly considering the circumstances. He gathered up all of his belongings, and didn't waste any time in heading out, Lux in tow.

Astene had just finished off one of the last waves of... Well, whatever those things were. She had hunched over, gathering breath, noticing her leather armor was sliced open in a few places and darkened from her blood. She placed a hand over one gash, sheathing her bow as she limped back to where she last saw her friends. When she saw Miryn carrying Lux, she already had a bad feeling in her gut something happened. "Is Nehviir okay?" she asked, worried. "Does he need help? Where are they?"

"We aren't going back…"Miryn said quietly, placing his hands on her wounds, using Restoration magic, with his hands stained with her blood. "What the hell are you saying?" She blinked. "I told Dahmaan of our little transgression, and she didn't react well, so, we aren't part of the group anymore, at least, as far as I know." Lux pulled him close. "So...that leads to the next question, you gonna join us, Astene? If you don't I won't hold it against you, but yeah, we aren't going back to be with Dahmaan and Nehviir, I knew Dahmaan wouldn't react well, but not like this, we're on our own."

Miryn slowly let Lux down as she lost her grip, his face met with Astene's boot. He spit out some blood, Astene crawling on top of him and pulling him close, "DO YOU EVEN WHAT YOU JUST DID? YOU HAVE COMPLETELY, AND UTTERLY, RUINED MY LIFE. I CAN'T GO BACK TO THE ORDER, I CAN'T GO BACK TO FAMILY, I CAN'T EVEN GO BACK TO MY BOYFRIEND!" She hit him a few times, Miryn thankfully managing to throw her off. She fell on the ground, finally collapsing into tears and deafening sobs. She curled up, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath, mumbling nonsense to herself.

Miryn pulled the flower that Dahmaan gave him, planting into the ground, he didn't need to be reminded of what he had lost. He went over to Astene, and whether she wanted it or not, Miryn embraced her. "I'm sorry, for everything. I know that there is little that I can do, but I want you to at least stand by my side, I'm not sure I'll be able to make it up to you, but I want to try…" Her first instinct was to cling to him, her make up now smeared and ruined. "You will pay for all you have done," she whispered into his ear, her lip trembling, "You will." She broke down into tears once more, her fist still clenched as she tried to hit him once more. Her strength was already nearly depleted, she soon gave up and rested her weary head against his shoulder. Miryn ran his hand through her hair, stroking her head gently. "I'll make everything better, don't you worry." He said, gently picking her up, turning to Lux."Any ideas where we can go?"

Lux gave her a sympathetic look, despite the way the two clashed together. She rose, looking east, "The only place in Skyrim where someone just might have a clue. The College." She began to lead the way, keeping an eye on the two from the corner of her eye, "Miryn, you've visited the College of Winterhold, no? What's your take on it?"

"Ok, sorry to sound daft, but first things first, a clue on what? Secondly, I don't care one way or another, I'll follow you wherever, you're the closest thing I have ever had to a mother. So you have any special goddess powers to warp us there, I don't mean to be inconsiderate, but my wounds are still hurting, A LOT." Lux smiled at this, chuckling to herself, "Let's see... A clue on what these monsters are, I'll be there whether you see me or not, thank you, dear, and yes I do. Take a night and rest up, there should still be an Inn plus I think she may need one too." She turned back around, pointing a finger at him, "Also, do tell Miranne I said hello." A bright light shot from her fingertips, absorbing the two. With just a blink, Miryn found himself in the middle of Winterhold, receiving a couple strange looks from the guards, "You okay there, traveller?"

"Yeah, I am, I just need to get to an inn." Miryn clarified, when he made his way into the inn, Lux was sitting in a chair by the hearth. She smiled at him. "Hey, sweets, glad you made it, go get a room for Astene and yourself, and then come and sit with me." The tavern owner tapped Miryn on the shoulder. "You know this woman?" Miryn had to think of something on the fly, "She's my mom, is there a problem?" The tavern owner waved their hand. "No worries, I was just curious. I am assuming that you need a room for you and your strapping friend?" Miryn nodded. "How much?"

"20 Septims a night." Miryn fished in his pocket, handing over the money, and was pointed to the room on the left, closest to the entrance. He went in. "One bed, huh? Well, could be worse." He set the woman down gingerly, cleaning the smeared makeup off her face with a simple yet clean rag that he dampened, her face still had a sad expression, Miryn gave her a small a kiss on the forehead, and stepped back out with his "mom". "Is she alright?" Lux asked, the ends of her lips barely curving into a smile, "Hopefully this will all be a blurred memory to her by the time she wakes up. Hopefully she won't be as upset. But now, do you believe she's going to let it go that easily? Or is my judgement of people finally beginning to fail me?"

"No, Astene won't let it go that easily, but really I hate myself for all of this, so I have to make this right, by any means, and if Astene wants to beat the hell out of me, than so be it. In any case, something you wanted to talk about?"

"I'd like to start off by saying what you did was very bold. Yes, the consequences weren't in your favor, but that didn't keep you from doing what is right. Secondly, I believe the College could hold a few ideas of what theses monstrosities could be. Our previous friend had many guesses, all of them were on the right track. But the College could put us at a further pace. Maybe even why they're here?" She raised a brow, "Unless you're not as interested in stopping these things?"

"Of course I am, I like this world, I don't want it to end, say, how did you become an Aedra anyway, I just remember you saying you weren't always one, so I am interested, and how did you know about me even when I was a kid?" Miryn arched an eyebrow. "That is private information," she pressed a finger to her lips, "You'd be surprise what kind of trouble I could get into, even from my kind. You'll know soon, though, I can promise that much. Just have some patience for me, alright?" She smiled, "Are you sure you can stay up any longer? Your wounds will heal over night if you get some sleep, you know."

"Hmm, good idea, thanks, Lux." Miryn failed to stifle a yawn, making his way to the room he purchased. "Astene, budge over just a tad." It was a decent sized bed, but Miryn could tell she wasn't too used to sharing a bed still. Her eyes opened but a fraction, making out blurry figures. Her hand propped onto the nightstand, feeling a book and launching it on the other side of the room. "Make me," she grumbled, turning her back to him. "Look, I asked nicely, and I am going to make up all of this to you, you aren't the only who lost things today, alright? I'm trying to deal with it as well." She looked over to him, a twinge of annoyance poking at her, "Oh no, you can't get laid- Oh wait, that's what I was there for this morning. Now, in case you weren't listening the first time, I said: Make. Me." She turned her head back.

"You know what, fuck it." Miryn left the room, and decided to go Lux's room. "Hey, Lux, can I crash with you? Astene is being predictably difficult, and I don't want to deal with her. Thats not too much to ask, is it?" He prayed she'd be lenient, women, even divine ones, were rarely easy to predict. "If you have anymore gold, no," she gave a guilty smile, "As far as the keeper knows, I already left and you talk to yourself. You know how us divine don't really need sleep, plus I thought she was already asleep."

"It turns out she wasn't, still wants to murder me, and won't budge over, so, here I am. I don't have the patience to really deal with her in any shape or form really. Hopefully she'll be at least a little better tomorrow, and no, I really have next to no gold, sadly. So help me out, alright. And I swear, people love making me look insane, dammit…" "Dear, you find yourself in a crowd of insanity," she couldn't help but laugh, "If she won't move, then make her move. She'll calm down after a few minutes. She's in no emotional state to try anything serious, believe me." Miryn nodded, trying to wrack his brain to remember where had ran into Lux previously in his life, the more he thought about it, the more strongly he felt as though they had met before. He made his way back to the room. "Astene, move." He said. " .it. Can you not get it through your thick skull?" Miryn simply said, "I'm not asking, believe it or not, it wouldn't be too hard for me to move you, sweets."

She groaned, turning over for a bit of room. Miryn had felt proud of himself, even getting her to move over some more. He stretched his arms, a smirk on his face. Astene had leaned on him, even going as far as to wrap her legs around one of his own, mumbling to herself. "I'll never let anyone come between us again," she grumbled. Miryn was both intrigued and confused, until realizing she was genuinely asleep. "I wonder who she was referring to…"Miryn said, giving her hair a light stroke before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up to her and Miryn sleeping a little too close for her taste. "I swear if you did anything while I was out..." she growled to herself, slipping away from his grasp. She grabbed her bow and what little arrows she had left, throwing them over her shoulder. She waited for him outside the inn, still a little too heated from yesterday and just wanting fresh air.

Miryn simply said, "Even if I did do something, trust me, you wouldn't even know. I've learned a few things from my travels, if you know what I mean." He said, with a mischievous wink. "Warming you up any night is my pleasure."

"Yes, yes," she rolled her eyes, "You made that clear now. And turning you down any night would be my own little pleasure. Now, restating the obvious aside, what are we even doing here?" She shivered, pulling the upper part of her armor up so more to cover her chest, "Because whoever thought it'd be a good idea to come here just made it on my shitlist. Again."

"You can blame Lux for that one, but if anyone has a lead as to where these monsters were coming from, you can bet the mages of Winterhold should be able to shed some light on the matter, no pun intended, so, as it is, thats what we are waiting on, and whatever we do now, well, I'll leave that to you, I have nothing to do here, and uh by the way, not quite sure why you blamed me for the issue with your family, and that "Order", yesterday. Those two things had literally next to nothing to do with me, and you know it."

"Oh is that so, snowflake? Then let me tell how stupid you look. See, if it wasn't for a little contract with your name on it, I'd still have a good piece of my friends and I would still have money. As for my family, you're better off not knowing, because I know you'll end up looking for excuses on how that has nothing to do with you. Whether or not you realize it, you really should have killed me when you had the chance," she let go of him, turning away, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make some use of myself."

Miryn sighed dejectedly and went in the opposite direction, he considered the option of not even coming back, anything would be preferable to this. Astene would probably hate him for the rest of her life, so if he left, and never came back to show himself to her again, well, that would be better for them, and so he disappeared into the snowy landscape.

Astene's plan into getting in the College hadn't exactly gone according to plan, with an Altmer woman throwing her into the snow. "I really hate people," she said to herself, wiping the snow from her face. Lux had revealed herself to her, chuckling to herself of the situation. "Trouble?" "Shut it," Astene growled, "I'm trying to do this on my own, thank you." "Speaking of which," Lux rolled her eyes, not very interested, "You haven't seen Miryn, have you?" "I did this morning, then I left and this happened."

"So Miryn just disappeared?" Astene deduced, her eyes narrowing. "I swear, that child seems to think that shunning everyone will solve his problems, do you have any idea which direction that he went?" Lux thought about it for a second, well there are footprints leading south, thats all I can glean sadly, so your best bet is that." Lux suggested. "As it is, even with all my powers, and the connection I share with Miryn, I cannot pinpoint his location." Astene groaned, "You are, by far, the most useless thing. Fine, I'll go and track the little bugger down. And they needed a collar on me, please..."

Astene headed off on her own, heading south near some cliffs. The footprints had come to a stop, onward was just dangerous heights and sharp rocks. "I swear, if he leapt off and got himself killed," she grumbled and she slowly crawled down. Halfway down, she missed a step down and fell to the icy floor. She coughed, rolling onto her back, "I swear that little fucker better be close by..." She coughed once more, screaming Miryn's name. Her head hit the snow once more, the sky beginning to spin. Eventually Miryn showed himself. "I never thought you cared to come and find me." Miryn said, surfacing from a drift of snow, his skin pale from exposure to snow, it was dusting his hair as well as eyebrows and eyelashes, he was expressionless. "I was going to go my separate way from you, I deduced that'd be better for the both of us. Just let me go, alright?" Miryn arched an eyebrow.

"Sweetie," she breathed, feeling blood drip down from a gash. She cursed at herself for being so clumsy these last few days, "I'm going to say this as nicely as I can and you better listen to every last word." She grabbed him, pulling him down close to her face, "I did this for a reason. I chased you across countries and have watched your every movement. I have even opened up to you on a few things and have shown you vulnerable side. I shared a fucking bed with you. I'm not going to let you off that easy. Especially since every time you leave my sight, I happen to worry for your safety. Okay?" She let go, forcing herself to sit up, "Because that fall happened to really hurt my butt."

Suddenly she was gripped hard by Miryn on the shoulder. His voice was different, and his eyes were glowing a bright blue."The encounter has been ordained with the omnipotent mortal who wields hallowed light in the name of the most holy goddess, and with him lies the choice whether to reshape the new world to a bright new future, or shatter it into a dark twisted landscape, the end approaches." Miryn then snapped out of it. "Um...what exactly happened?" Miryn scratched the back of his head, everything was a blur.

She pushed him off, "I just had to get stuck with the stereotypical hero. As if falling off a freaking cliff wasn't a walk in the park." She tried to make herself stand, slightly hunched over. She tried to take a few steps before collapsing altogether. She turned to Miryn, "If you're done interrupting our special little moment, care to help me up? Or are you going to let karma take its toll on me?" Miryn walked over to her, hoisting her up, gently, but surely, he walked back to Winterhold, without so much as uttering a word, absorbed in his own thoughts. Miryn eventually spoke up, "You know, I wonder if this was the gods ordained for us, because no matter what happens, we always run into each other, no matter the circumstances."

"Personally, I blame the Webspinner herself," she shrugged, "This is kind of her field. But, if that's some sort of pick up line, then I should hit you for trying that again. You must be one of the most persistent little things I've ever come across. You're worse than Bosmer, and that's saying a lot." She tried wiggling one of her legs, "No offense, though, I guess."

"Thanks, I guess?" He was deliberating as to whether he should take that as a compliment or not. Eventually the duo made it back to Winterhold, where events played out very similar to the way they did among arrival."Still going to be difficult about this?" Miryn questioned her. "Could you give me a second?" She snapped, stripping herself of her thick, leather coat. She scooted over and made barely enough room for him, "If I can't walk in the morning, I'm beating you with my leg." She wrapped herself in most of the bed blankets, shivering.

Miryn sat there in silence, awkwardly twiddling his thumbs, casting his gaze about, looking for something to say. No doubt Astene was still pretty furious at him, as for Dahmaan, he was gradually letting her go, soon enough, it would be nothing but an echo of a memory. He decided to nod out by the small table with a candle flickering on it, he wasn't going to fight Astene, he had zero energy for it. Just then, Astene's voice cut in, waking him up. "What the hell are you doing, sleeping in a chair?" Miryn responded, "Well, it's not like I am to just set my ass on the floor, makes sense to me…" She rolled her eyes, throwing some blanket off, "Just get over here. C'mon sweetie, I'm in no condition and no mood to bite your head off. Just don't try anything." "Are you sure?" Miryn asked, surprised from this burst of kindness. "If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be offering, would I?"

Miryn kicked his boots off. "Can't argue with that." He shrugged, and that night he had a very strange dream. He was standing in what looked like an abandoned city, a black smoky substance with gold bands of light drifted back and forth, a mellifluous twilight, it didn't seem harmful, but it was thick, and so the only really visible spots were immediately in front of him. So he only did the only natural thing; He went forward, though he wasn't alone in here. "Where am I? And what is all this?" Miryn was feeling uneasy. "Who knows, it depends on what you make of it," said a soft, youthful voice. Out of everyone that could've been there, Dahmaan emerged from the shadows. But something about her was different; her looks, her hair, the way she dressed, even the way she carried herself just like when he first met her. "Even I'm here, because that's what a piece of you wants somewhere."

"I-I don't understand." Miryn muttered. "Helllooo? Miryn, you still in there? This is your mind, the one thing that free from the meddling of the Aedra and Daedra, the one place you can talk freely." "Dahmaan" smiled. Miryn crossed his arms, thing were just too strange, so he did what he usually did, opted not to say a word. She chuckled, "Oh, come on silly goose." She tugged on his hand, "Even certain areas in your mind knows how to operate this, how to change the world, how to change us. You just need to listen."

Miryn sighed. "I'm not even sure if this is the real you, but I suppose that if you have something to say, I'll listen. So what do you have to say?" Miryn sighed, listening to the noises the whispering trails of energy that they made, sticking his fingers out to touch it, it was cold, as ice, he shook his hand to get the blood flowing again. "I'm as real as you want to me to be," she smiled, taking his hands to warm them up, "I'll tell you just about anything you want to know. Think of me as your little library, of sorts." She laughed.

Miryn chuckled, wishing things could go back the way they were with the real Dahmaan, sighing. "So whats all this black energy?" Dahmaan explained that it was the life energy flowing through his veins blessed by Lux, which would explain the golden streams of energy as well. "So if its my life energy, why is it so damn cold?" "Maybe because you're located in a cold place. That or you're just that cold hearted," she waved a hand, chuckling, "I'm kidding, kidding." She turned to him, "Now I think you owe at least this version of me an explanation. And we both know about what."

"If you mean by what happened to Astene, I wasn't thinking too clearly, I just wanted to see what her lips felt like, if thats what you mean, come to think of it, I'm surprised that some weird ass dream version of hers isn't here…So, is there anything else you want to know?" "Do you regret it?" She simply asked. Her eyes stayed on him, no signs of grievance or anger. Perhaps this wasn't his Dahmaan, after all. "You've done a little more damage than anger Astene, who I still wonder if you persist after."

"Well, its not like we're gonna be allowed back into Dahmaan's and Nehviir's fold, so there is not really much else...And I'm sure Dahmaan would be more likely to kill me then accept me back into her arms, and Nehviir was inches away from murdering me, so there's my answer." "That doesn't answer my question. You're looking at your options, not looking into your feelings. Do you truly feel bad for what you did or are you just upset because your friends took it harshly?" She shook her head, her lips curling into a sad smile, "Or perhaps you need time to think on it?"

Miryn fell to his knees, tears hitting the ground. "B-both…" He had been putting up a facade to mask his true feelings, but everything came to the fore here. "I wish I could make everything right, but at this point, I have no doubt that it will never be the same again, so its best if I just leave Dahmaan, and Nehviir, in peace, forever." She brought a gentle hand under her chin, gently bringing his face back up to meet hers, "Now, what kind of talk is that? They may be mad, and I understand you should give them some space, but also try to show them that you're ready to show you're sorry. Not everyone handles it like Astene." She gave him a confident smile, "Now, go. It's time you wake up. I think I set you back on the right path."

Miryn stirred, with a small smile. Astene must have gotten up before he did, Lux was watching over him, with a tender smile on her face. "It seems you've found the right answer, dear. So what do you plan on doing now?" Miryn smiled, "Well, we're going back, to Solitude." Miryn felt greater than he had felt in days, and he was gonna go and prove himself to Dahmaan. Astene returned to grab her coat, noticing the wide grin on Miryn's face as he was collecting his items. "I'm scared to ask what you were dreaming that last night." "No time," Miryn beamed, "We are going back to Solitude." Astene actually smiled at this, "Usually I would protest, but seeing you act with sense and the thought of seeing our favorite little two actually makes me happy."

Miryn chuckled. "Well, shall we go? We have a long way ahead of us, but we gotta find Lux first. I know you don't like her that much, but care to help me?" He extended his hand. She sighed, taking it, "Fine, even though I don't see why we should since she's apparently Daedric and all..." She groaned, "She'll show herself eventually! We'll be wasting daylight!" She bit her lip. "Don't you have some way of contacting her?"

"Just give me one second." Miryn closed his eyes, and after a few minutes, Lux was at their side. "Alright, this is it...we're going back."

FIN


	8. O'Piteous Wanderer

O' Piteous Wanderer

Rated T+ We've been through this before

I don't own Elder Scrolls

Miryn had been holding vigil over Dahmaan ever since she shut herself away away from Shera. "You plan on actually coming out any time soon?" Miryn tapped on the door, it can't have been good for Dahmaan to remain holed up in there. He sat out in the small hallway, and waited, and waited, and waited…

"MIRYN!" He had heard Dahmaan scream from her room. There was much commotion coming from inside, the young girl managed to move all the large objects, standing with the door ajar in amazement. She flung her arms around him, "I did it! I finally did it!" She pulled him away to make eye contact, "I managed to sleep sideways!" As ridiculous as this had sounded, she was very proud of it.

Miryn stroked her hair. "That's great, something I'd probably never be able to do myself. Now lets see if we can get about to putting everything back the way it was, no?" He patted her on the shoulder, he was going to overlook telling Dahmaan that Shera was indeed still around. He let out a sigh of relief, and set himself to work with Dahmaan to get everything back to their original state, at least that was the case, until Dahmaan had collapsed." You're getting sick again, dammit. This can't go on." He gritted his teeth, he was going to talk to Nehviir, whether he liked or not. After he placed Dahmaan down gently in the bed they typically shared, he went to Nehviir's study, and kicked the door open. "We have a lot to talk about, old man."

Nehviir lazily turned to peer over his shoulder. Out of everything he could've possibly retorted to, he only sighed as he saw his door hanging from a single hinge. "It was unlocked, you know," he sighed, "Could've just opened it." He flicked a pair of fingers up, fixing the door to its original place. He covered himself with the familiar old shield, a light blue aura surrounding him. "Whatever it is, I'm sure Durkof can handle it," he turned back to the rotting wood, as if there was nothing wrong with what lay in front of him.

"No, he can't. This is about you, and Dahmaan. And I am telling you that, you, need to get your shit together. Haven't been feeling what's happening to her? She is dying, and because you can't get over the fact that Astene is gone. People come and go, get over it. You have people that rely on you, whatever happened to the Nehviir I knew, he who was unshakeable in even the most trying of circumstances, and here you let one setback destroy your life, I can't believe I have to tell this to someone who has lived my life countless times over." Nehviir turned away without saying a thing. "DON'T YOU IGNORE ME!" Miryn shouted, he gripped the old man's collar. "Look, get over yourself. Bad things happen all the time, and here's the thing, we could be gone any second, and with nothing to show for it. Nothing stays the same over time, to not change is unnatural."

He pushed Miryn off him with but a glance, wiping his clothes. "Now, if you're done," he tried to sound polite, "Allow to tell you why you look like an ass right now. Dahmaan is not going to die because you can't kill someone that wasn't living in the first place. Bad things happen, you're right, but I'm sure within a day it'd be more than clear that she's back in my head than running around. Oh no, you have to go a day with not seeing her. Maybe even sooner if you KINDLY bring it up. You might to get over yourself first before telling someone to do the same, because you're really tempting in hiding her away forever. You want to know why she's been getting 'sick'? Because for once in a very, very long time I would like to not stress over a hundred different things. I keep enough track to keep her stable and visible and I'm very sorry if that's not enough for an ungrateful little child like you."

Miryn fell silent. "Apologies. I just...fuck. I just, she means a lot to me, you know…And believe it or not, I was worried for you, too." "Apology accepted," he waved a hand, slowly turning his back, "And flattered, too. No doubt she knows how to fill an empty heart, but it's more... The less you know, the more you love sort of thing." He shrugged, "I don't doubt your affection, but I would for future's sake you don't doubt mine as well. That's my daughter, biologically or not."

"Fair enough, I guess, I'll leave you to it then." Miryn shut the door quietly. "Way to go dumbass...You nearly alienated a close friend of yours, again." He cringed, and sat down against the wall, mentally smacking himself, where was someone like Astene when you needed her? "I can explain," he heard a familiar feminine tone. Astene was halfway through a window, bug eyed, with her index finger to her lips. "Hush, hush," she leapt to his side, covering his mouth with her hand, "I would really not like to attract attention. Just this once?" She wiped the dirt off her garment, "Now then, missed me?"

Miryn smiled. "Yeah, I did, now, why exactly did you chose the sneak thief approach of getting in here, please, by the Tribunal tell me you didn't get into any trouble?" Miryn said, praying silently. "What? No, please. Can't a girl drop by, check on her old fuck buddies, maybe even grab some old things I forgot a few years ago, heh..." She chuckled nervously, "I mean, I'm just wanted in seven... Other... Holds..." She made a face, quickly adding, "In my defense, I never claimed to be a good girl. But enough about me, what about you?"

"Well, what do you mean specifically, we have a new member to our little fold, she's a Dunmer, and a vampire like Durkof, Dahmaan is really antsy around her for some reason." Miryn chuckled. Astene's eyes widened at this. "She hasn't made a move on you, has she? You and Nehviir are my little teddy bears, for lack of better word." Miryn sighed. "I think she's a lesbian, call it a hunch."

Astene remained silent for a moment, going into one of her infamous zone outs. "Durkof's a vampire? Ew, and I fucked that too," she finally said, making a disgusted face. "But, new information aside, I don't think I'm exactly wanted her and, no offense, but I rather not stay here too long. Unless there's some closed off piece of the house nobody goes around, then I'm all for it." She said very slowly, pulling him close, "Nobody needs to know I'm here."

"I can keep you concealed, I just need to find somewhere to place you. And uh…"Miryn sidled up, and kissed the older woman on the cheek. "Ok, let's see. Well, hmm…There's the place that used to be my room, trust me, no one goes in there at all." "Just try and help keep me safe is all I need for now. Really, it should only be a few days am I shouldn't be too much of a bother. But first..." She slowly creaked the door open, glancing inside, "Poor little thing looks so miserable, it almost breaks my heart... Almost. Now that's done and off my list, you lead the way because I vaguely remember the layout of this place."

Miryn led her to his old room, which was quite a distance aways from the others. He unlocked the door with the key around his neck. "I've been keeping it clean, even after I was done using it. It's all yours. I just wish you wouldn't get yourself into these situations. But I'm glad you were able to make it here safely." Miryn stroked the older woman's hair. "Glad you're back." He smiled, and decided to see how Dahmaan was doing, whistling idly.

Dahmaan was looking for Miryn as well, vaguely hearing his voice back in his old room. "Miryn?" She sang, soon finding him after leaving his old room. "I've been looking for you honey," she hugged him, "I was going to see if you wanted to come outside with me? It's getting really boring stuck in here..."

Miryn chuckled. "Sure, I'm yours, you know that. I'm going to Winterhold soon so, I figure I should spend some time with you before I do, I shouldn't be gone too long though, there is a quick something I have to look into. But in the meantime, anything you want to do, and we can do it, provided it's not too crazy of course." He waved his hand, Dahmaan chuckled, as the cyan nail polish was still there, not even chipped slightly. "That polish still there eh? I must say it looks good on you, I was right, cyan is your color." Miryn pulled her close. "Shush you." He said with a smirk.

"Wish you didn't have to go," she started pouting, taking him by the hand and leading him away, "Don't see why... I can't stop you, though. But, I shall make use of you while I still have you." She strikes a fist in the air, "You shall be my new little slave, hehe... Oh, I forgot to ask, how'd that talk go?"

"Disastrous, but I don't want to go into it. As for why I'm going, well, remember those odd dreams I have been happening? Well, as it happens, I have found a lead as to what they pertain to, a legendary beast that heralds the end. Not sure on much else yet, any other inference of mine would be just conjecture, and what exactly do you mean by little slave, anyway?"

She plopped down on the sofa, stretching out her thin legs with her feet pointed. "Paint my toes," she demanded, joking as she poked her nose in the air, "Silver, please." She tossed him grayish vial. "Oh, before I forget, after this you'll be re-braiding my hair and combing it as well. That should be it... For now." Miryn sighed, slightly swishing the vial of nail polish to evenly disperse the contents, then carefully drew the small brush, and with surprising care did each one of her toenails, seemingly utterly absorbed by the task at hand, all told it took him a little less than twenty minutes. "Alrighty, let's see if we can get your hair out of the way, no?"

Just fiddled with her hair, her wavy locks tangled with one another. Once she managed to get all her knots out, she threw her hairbrush to him. "Be gentle," she winced, her eyes tearing from the pain of the previous knots, "I haven't gotten my hair done in a couple decades. Tends to tangle easy." She turned her back to him.

"I'll be gentle as I can. No guarantees that you won't get hurt a bit, but I can fix that." He took the hair brush, going as carefully as he could to work out the rather serious knots that had manifested in the past decades. "Ow…"Dahmaan whimpered. "Sorry." Miryn cringed. "I'll get this done as quick as possible, then I'll braid your hair, and everything will be good to go, I swear." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Miranne in her ethereal state smiling in approval. Eventually it was all done, and Dahmaan looked as good as she ever did. She smiled serenely. Dahmaan's eyes glinted as she had an idea. "We should do your hair, make it look all nice." Miryn backed away. "You're probably not gonna take a no for an answer are you?"

"Please, Miryn, don't you think I should spare you this? Come on, I just want to hold you..." Miryn was suspicious at first, but soon settled down beside Dahmaan. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down onto her shoulder. "See? That's okay, right?" She began to stroke his hair, scratching him behind the ears. "It'll be okay," she said soothingly, "What the College will think when I brush your hair."

"They aren't going to know." Miryn growled. "That said, let's just get this over with." He said with a sigh, flipping his bangs. She took her hairbrush, grinning deviously, "I'm going to enjoy this much more than I should..." She began brushing through, noticing she wasn't the only one with knots. "I'm sorry- Sorry!" She squeaked, though she was relieved it wasn't as bad as she had imagined in her head.

"I-it's fine."Miryn stammered. He sat still while Dahmaan did her handiwork, twiddling his thumbs. "Hey, Dahmaan. Question for you, not a personal one. Ever heard of the name Ragnarok? Maybe Nehviir has mentioned it?" "Daddy knows it!" She shot up, accidentally tearing out a few hairs, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- But, Ragnarok? Yeah, Nehviir knows all about it, if not just hearing a few tales about it. He's knows everything!" She sang, laughing to herself as she gently rubbed the place she accidentally plucked.

"Huh, well, don't worry about the hairs, it's not a big deal. I could stand losing a few." Miryn chuckled. "Ow…"He said quietly. Under normal circumstances he would have brought Astene with him, but due to her current situation that she had landed herself in, it was probably better to just leave her be. "Whatcha thinking about?" She poked at him. She lowered the brush, wondering if she should still continue brushing his hair. She patted his head once more, laying it to the side. "You're done."

"I wasn't thinking about anything too interesting, I just wonder what ever happened to Lux, she was with all that time, and then she ends just disappearing." Miryn tapped his leg, and then stood up. "Maybe we'll find her again, I gotta hope she's ok." He sighed, stroked her hair, and gave her a small smile. "I'd say come with me, but I'm not sure Nehviir would approve." "Why not? I haven't talked to him in so long..." She began to pout, before hopping to her feet. She pulled Miryn by the hand, leading on. "Nehviir," she sang, swinging the door open as she clung to Nehviir's waist, "Miryn's got questions for you!" "Oh boy..." He patted her head.

"I just was curious, do you know anything about the beast known as Ragnarok." Miryn was dead serious. Nehviir sighed. "Where did you learn that?" "A premonitory dream." Miryn explained. "Ragnarok, you say?... Well, if you must know, it's this whole great battle with this inhumane beast which results in the ultimate result in... Well, there's a lot at stake I suppose. Natural disasters, mass death, that stuff. Which could explain quite a lot, but if the world was coming to that."

"The ultimate end?" Miryn hazarded a guess. "It was this big multi-armed beast, and it apparently takes two people to metamorphose into it. But just because it brings about one worlds end, doesn't necessarily mean that it's a permanent end, right? I'm just making my own guesses." Miryn finished. "Yes, that's it. Takes two to make one, and of course you're one of them. Good luck in finding the other, though. I'm not sure if I can prove any use in finding the other, so you'll have to do some searching on your own. And not the actual, permanent end, more of a fresh start of the a new world."

"Not sure I want to be part of something that will result in the death of almost everyone on Nirn." Miryn deadpanned. "I had a feeling I was half of the equation, but even so, if this is the case, then I am gonna have to reject this fate, I like this world, and I don't want it to end." Miryn explained. "Nobody wants to die when the opportunity arises on its own. What's important, though, is finding the other person. It could be anybody. But, if you're going to go and figure it out, try not to sound crazy," he turned back to his work, "Let me know if there's anything else."

"Hmm...How am I supposed to find the person in question, like, what do the past stories say? If you know, I just need everything I can get to go on." Miryn explained, with Dahmaan clinging to his arm, she had a worried expression, but remained wordless. Nehviir thought about this for a second. "Those stories are for a later time. I'll tell you at a later time. Go try to relax, get a few ideas on who it may be. The end of the world isn't ending tonight or tomorrow, so you have time to think," he waved a hand, "No need to hurry things."

Miryn and Dahmaan stepped out of the room, leaving Nehviir to his studies. Dahmaan still looked worried, but Miryn only just now noticed, and naturally, "What's wrong. you can tell me anything, you know that?" Miryn reassured her, stroking her fair hair, while also still sifting and processing all the info that Nehviir had shared with him. "We're worried, me and Nehviir. He doesn't like to share his feelings, but I know he is. He's worried about what's going to happen to everyone if we can't..." She covered her eyes, turning away as she let out a few tears. "I don't want anything happening to this world."

Miryn held her close. "Neither do I. But I figure something even worse will happen if I don't find the other person who shares my fate. You have to trust me, Dahmaan, and who knows, maybe the people living now will make it to the next world, if it comes down to that." "But what if they don't? What if we can't find him or her? We don't even know if it's a him or her!" She rubbed her forearms, leaning her head on Miryn, "I suppose you're right. I trust you, Miryn. We just... We really need to find them." She looked to the ground, letting out a sigh.

"Well, remember there are those facts that Nehviir hasn't told us yet, that might give us a lot more to go on. So we just have to wait and see, no?" Miryn held her close. "Look, I'll be right back." He went towards his old room, and unlocked the door. "Astene?" He had lowered his voice. "Astene, you there?" He looked back and forth. "Cooome in," she sang, opening the door a quarter, "I was wondering where you ran off to. Got me feeling so lonely..." She looked over shoulder, facing a window, "I suppose you're not here for a quickie?"

"Well, I wouldn't necessarily mind at this point." Miryn shrugged. "Obviously, thats up to you." He said, closing the door softly behind him. "Oh, please," she waved a hand, turning to him, "You came for something, plus I haven't had the time to go off and take someone home for the night... I'm just assuming." She leaned against the wall, folding her arms, "So, what did you want?"

"Well, I just need to take my mind off a few things is all." Miryn muttered, shrugging. "I picked up a few things that could change quite a lot, but I'm not gonna bother you with it, I know how you zone out so…"Miryn flopped himself down in silence. "Only on things I don't deem important. Your love life? Not important. Some disastrous event? Semi-important. Came into quite a bit of coin? Very important," she poked his nose, "Also, I'm not sure what you're expecting of me to think when you say 'need to take my mind off a few thing'. That said, I'm assuming this isn't about sex."

"Not really, but taking from what you just said, I'll spare the details." Miryn waved his hand. He sighed. "In any case, I'm not gonna be sticking around for much longer, I have things that need attending to, especially in light of current events. So, let's...just get this over with, yeah?" She held up a finger, "First, promise me a couple things. One, don't be loud of course. Two, don't be gone long because things get very boring very quick without you. Lastly... Fuck. You don't have to, nevermind. Go tell your little toy goodbye." She waved a hand, turning away. "Just go." Miryn sighed, pulling her close. "I don't want to leave, believe me, I was never given the choice. We're just the playthings of gods, thats all we were ever were. If I could stay I would. You have to trust me on that."

"Then stay one more night," she said through gritted teeth, "Tell them you're leaving, fine. But let's take a night, go down to Riften or somewhere and eat all night, throw tomatoes at the peasants, and just have a date night. We'll do things we normally don't do. I'll actually listen to some of things you say I couldn't care less about, and I'll actually be nice and honest, and you can push your luck until your back is against the wall..." She shrugged, "Just... Things."

Miryn chuckled."You're on. Though I just think I we should wait until we can escape without getting busted." He gripped her hand in his, softly. He smiled. "You know, despite your frigid personality, you have a softer side, don't worry, I'll keep quiet." "Good," she turned and tapped his lips, "Don't want people thinking I'm going soft or anything, do I? Now, that we have that out of the way, I believe I should wish give you some good luck on your travels, hm?" She hooked a finger around his lip, pulling him closer, "Unless you're busy?" Miryn chuckled.

"I can make time for you any time at all." He chuckled, pulling her close once again, stroking her hair. This was going to be a wondrous evening, no doubt. Astene smirked. She gently pushed him onto the bed, climbing onto his waist. "I'm hoping you locked the door, yes? Wouldn't want any snoops wandering in, would we?" She began taking off her shirt, leaning over to get him a kiss.

"You have some pretty good curves, still." Miryn chuckled. He ran his hand down Astene's toned, yet still soft to the touch, stomach. She obviously took good care of herself, even now. "Got to. I'm done trying to keep myself young, gets me in too much trouble with such little results. Just wait a few years, then this will be," she made a face, "Disgusting." She sat up straight, knocking some hair out of her face, "Now, I'm hoping you're not going to let me do all the work? Show me what you got."

"I'll try my best, I'm still learning." He stammered. Astene chuckled."Still just a kid." She scratched behind his ears, smirking, a look of triumph in her eyes. Miryn shuddered at the touch, not necessarily in the bad way. "Do I need to show you a few positions later? I don't mind riding you, but you got to... Broaden your horizons, basically," she slid off, "I can't guarantee these will work with every girl, but they do wonders for me." She chuckled deviously, "But for now, something a little more simple will do. Romance and that stuff will have to come later."

Miryn gulped, he had little doubt that Astene was about to put him through the wringer. He blinker for a second, and took a deep breath in an attempt to compose himself, friends with benefits indeed, and in this case, Astene was quite the teacher, maybe if Dahmaan could ever get past her phobia of these things, they could have a little fun time of their own. But this was the here and now, and Miryn was content with what he had, for the most part.

She leapt up to wriggle her pants off, crawling to Miryn's side. "I hope you're ready," she arched a brow, "I may be a whore, but I try to keep some form of standards if you get what I'm saying." She slowly took it out, maneuvering herself so she sat right on it. She squinted her eyes for a second, letting out a breath. "There we go."

"Not sure two guys makes you a whore, but...that's beside the point. Let's see here." Miryn felt awkward as all hell, he was sure the feeling would fade with time, but that seemed to be a ways off, he gave a shuddering breath, and tried his best, which still felt like he was slacking, but then again, hopefully Astene didn't see it that way. He mentally crossed his fingers. "Still better off if you lead, honestly." He said to her. "I see that," she breathed, "Just sit back and relax." She began rocking her hips, moving them to and fro. She multitasked with putting her hair up, making things more easy to control. She bent back, holding herself up with her hands as she raised and lowered her hips.

Eventually, they had finished their "fun", and had simply flopped back on said bed, their energy spent. "Just...give me, a bit." Miryn managed to say, breathless. He was going to learn how to properly please a woman if he made it out of his destiny alive, that was the first thing on his list. "I didn't tire you out too much, did I?" She smirked as she sat up, "Hopefully not too long from now, we can take it to new heights." She let down her hair, curling up to him. "When did you say you were leaving again?" Miryn stroker her head. "The next day, as soon as possible, but before I do, I need to consult Nehviir on a few things, he seems to have the answers I seek, but hasn't given me them, yet. In the meantime, you and I, are gonna have some fun." He kissed her, and laughed.

"Nehviir, you say?" She purred at the mention of the name, a sigh escaping her lips. "Whatever you're looking for, I hope goes well. As long as it doesn't take long, of course. I do tend to get so lonely..." She chuckled to herself nipping at the base of his neck.

"Perhaps, you could come with me?" Miryn offered tentatively, "It's a lonely road otherwise." He smiled at her. "I've been waiting for you to say something," she laughed, "Plus I have a feeling you're not against making a little routine out of this. Not like I'm objecting to it, though."

"Well, that's good, I figured I'd need someone to lean on and vice versa."Miryn chuckled, "I'd grab Dahmaan, but this could be pretty dangerous, so I'm not so sure…" He trailed off. "Forget the little blonde," she said sharply, "She probably couldn't handle anything serious, anyway. If we bring her, we'd have to bring everyone. Plus she doesn't seem the type to keep a secret..." She rolled over, turning her back from Miryn. It wasn't a secret the mention of the younger girl annoyed her.

"Look, I don't plan on bringing her with." Miryn pulled the woman close, nipping her ear. "It'll be just you and me." He said reassuringly. "I know," she sighed, "It just sounded like you'd rather her come along than me is all." She couldn't help but smile, turning her head to bite his lower lip. "Promise it'll just be us?" She mused. "You have my word. I would bring Dahmaan, but you two would come to blows otherwise." He held her close. "Like I said before, I can make it so you can stay young, or at least, not age any more, you seem to abhor the idea, so wouldn't I be doing you a favor?"

"Depends. I don't want you using up all your magic or anything drastic on me. I've tried my own ideas, but... They weren't exactly family friendly, to say the least," she laid her hands on top of his, "But, I was thinking about getting over some of these insecurities. You don't seem to have any problem wanting to screw an old hag like me, so it makes me feel that much better." She let out an almost unnoticeable sigh, "We'll just have to see."

Miryn sighed. "See, that's the thing, you make yourself out to be like this old bag, you really aren't. I have seen some genuinely unappealing people, you on the other hand, aged well, at least, in my opinion. You're beautiful, but you're more the mature kind of beautiful, and you're smart, a bit inclined to trouble, but I can overlook that, and even though you have harsh words, you have a softer streak, and that's why I dig you."

"I know, I know," she rolled her eyes, "But look at me! I'm my mother's age by the time she had my sister. I'm getting wrinkly, and thank someone I have you or nobody would find me appealing. Age can be nice, but you just wait. All this will be long gone in just some time." She buried her face in the pillow, "I wish it wouldn't, but it won't be too long."

"Which is precisely why I am offering to help you with magic, because the other alternative is far less pretty, and I'm pretty sure you know that." Miryn rested his chin on her bare shoulder gently, resting his other hand on her waist. "You trust me, no?" "I do," she said slowly, "I just want to find any other possible ways to at least stop it. I don't want to go to magic because it's the easy way out. Maybe there's another way... But I don't know that." One hand scratched his cheek, tweaking at one of his ears, "I do trust you, puddin'. But that's not the thing."

Miryn smiled, quickly followed by a frown. "Sometimes I wish things could be like this forever." He sighed, placing his hand on her back, gently. "But I'll be here for as long as I can." Miryn reassured her. "I know," she turned her head to partially face him, "We'll just have to make due with what we have, right? Plus you did promise me that date in Riften, which I do not plan on letting you forget." She chuckled.

"I wouldn't forget, I'll definitely take you to Riften, no worries." He whispered, "I'm almost able to move again, you really have some moves, woman." He smiled. "I should take advantage of that, shouldn't I?" She teased, chuckling, "Maybe show you some of those positions I told you about, hm? Maybe show you a few other things..." She put an arm around him, giggling deviously.

"If you wish."Miryn gulped, Astene was quite the card. He blinked, and attempted to steady himself, but it was in vain, to be sure. He sighed, and nodded. "Well, given the position we've already put ourselves in," she raised her head to inspect their bodies, "Already brings a particular one in mind." She pressed her backside against him, raising a leg into the air, "Not too hard, can't promise it'll be tricky." She lowered it, pressing her upper torso up, "Think you're willing to try it?"

"Um, whoa, sure." Miryn certainly appreciated the view this gave him, a certainly amazing perspective of Astene's curves. He stroked her back gently while he did so, while she scratched behind his ears. "Just like a cat." She muttered. "You know, they say those who win the favor of the gods gain eternal life." Miryn said. Astene let out a hollow laugh. "Something tells me that's the last thing I am going to win the favor of." She smirked. She pulled back some of her hair behind her ear, pushing herself to sit up. "I'm surprised by you, Miryn," her tone changed, pursing her lips, "You seem more of the... Loyal type. Good to see that." She patted his head, smiling, "Oh, what to call you, what to call you..."

"Excuse me?" Miryn said. "What exactly are you even getting at? A pet nickname for me?"Miryn questioned, while placing a hand gently on the older woman's face. She nipped at a couple of his fingers, snickering to herself, "Oh nothing, nothing my little kitty cat." She laughed even harder at the sound of herself. She patted him on the head, "Just a, uh, inside joke dear."

Miryn snorted, "Yeah, in any case, shall we get this show on the road? I gotta make sure the coast is clear." He slipper his clothes back on silently, and peered out of the door, Dahmaan was nowhere to be seen, thankfully. He took a few steps out, looking out one of the windows, the moon was high in the sky, the least he could do was to bid farewell to his other lover. He tiptoed into her room, noticing she was already asleep, and sat there, stroking her hair for a bit, giving her a kiss on her forehead. "We'll be together again sooner than you know." He whispered.

Astene made a large snorting sound as he did so, rolling her eyes in the doorway. "Yeah, right after I'm done screwing my side girl," she laughed. Thankfully for them, Dahmaan had grown to be a heavy sleeper. Astene contemplated writing something obscene on her forehead, her way of getting in touch with her inner youth, but she was sure Miryn would kill her.

Miryn had a small smile. "Shall we get a move on?" He prompted. "We have some fun to attend to, though as it happens, I think I'll let you lead, you're the one who is dragging me to Riften, not that I object to that." He smiled. Even still, the thought that the world was ending weighed down his optimism, but he wasn't going to let Astene know that.

"Finally!" She threw her hands up, "Playtime before work, just how I've always wanted it to be." She grabbed him by forearm, sneaking him past the rest of the house to the front door. There wasn't anyone who seemed awake or interested in leaving their rooms, so there wasn't much effort in sneaking. Leaving the grand city, she pointed a finger straight on as she proclaimed, "To Riften!"

Miryn staggered as he was dragged along. "Slow down!" And so the two set off into the night, hand in hand. Miryn smiled, he was going to make this a good night for the both of them.

The road to Riften was a long one, almost taking all night. Walking from one end of the fairly sized province was a tough one, but they managed to make it just before sunrise. Through the long trek, the two were very exhausted as well as hungry. "Are we there yet?" Astene asked, her eyes barely opened as she accidentally walked into the city's doors, "I think we're there."

Miryn rubbed his eyes. "So, I see. Shall we find an inn?" He turned to the half asleep woman, holding her close, with a tired smile, giving her a kiss. "You find an inn," she lazily yawned, applying all her weight onto Miryn, "I think it's bedtime for me." She mumbled a few other incoherent things, but she already seemed to be halfway into slumber.

"You got it." He stumbled his way to the Bee and Barb, simply asked for a room, and paid the paltry sum of gold, and made his way upstairs upon being directed as to which room to take. "One bed again, huh? Well, I'm not sleeping on the floor again, so Astene can tough it out." He set her down gently, and scooted in next to her, and was out almost as soon as he hit the thankfully not straw filled bed.

The next morning, Astene was almost as bouncy as Dahmaan on a good day. She was literally jumping on the bed, which was her polite way of awakening Miryn. When she became exhausted, she simply sat on top of him despite her knowing he was already well awake.

Miryn groaned. "Ugh, just give me a second, will you? I'm not a morning person." He sat up a bit, holding Astene so as to not dislodge her, and then proceeded to rub his eyes, while yawning. He eventually moved his hands away from his eyes, and sat there silently for a while, gathering the energy to speak, move, and so on. She poked at his nose and ears, before slowly sliding off, "Jeez, it's like you really shut down. You wake up as fast as me when I'm drunk trying to clearly aim." She stretched her arms, "When you're actually up and about, what would you like to do first?"

"Up to you, really, there are a few things I had in mind, but I think I'd let you do the honors of starting us off, just try not get us killed, and, or, arrested." Miryn said, stifling a yawn, standing up, and nearly toppling over, thankfully, Astene had been quick enough to catch him before he had made an acquaintance out of the panel wood. She set him back onto the bed quietly, then planting herself face first as she let out an overdramatic groan. "Are you forgetting who you're talking to?" She said through the blankets, "Getting in trouble is literally what I live for!" She let out a sniff, "No fun..."

Miryn smirked. "Pulling that card are we?" He said, pulling her close, and nipping her gently on the neck. "How do you like that, huh?" He grinned mischievously. "Oh, I'll show you a fun time this evening, make no mistake about that." He let out a sigh. "How long have we been friends now, ten years? And yet somehow it feels like I am only just getting to know you now." He chuckled. "That's because ten years ago I was in a relationship where I wasn't trying to get myself killed," she let a long finger glide along the side of his neck, ending at his collar bone. "Maybe tonight I could finally show you a few tricks." She giggled. She rolled over onto him, smirking, "Gods know I'm not going on top third time in a row."

Miryn chuckled. "I would like that a lot, I'm not sure where this new Astene came from, but honestly, I like her a lot more than the old one." Miryn smiled. Astene caught on to something. "Since when did your eyes have flecks of silver in em?" She said quizzically. "No idea." Miryn said. "It looks pretty good actually, what with your natural eye color." Astene added, "Ah, well. Maybe I just haven't noticed it before. We all know how I get." She slid to her feet, hunching her back as she groaned, "We need to do something. I've only been up for - what? Half an hour? I can feel the sanity seeping in."

Miryn gently hoisted her to her feet so he could get up. "Alrighty, what exactly did you have in mind then?" He nodded towards the twin wooden doors, while giving a thank you to the owner, an Argonian named Keerava. The Thieve's Guild member Sapphire nodded at him. "You know her?" Astene prompted, apparently surprised. "Yeah, I'm a member of the Thieves Guild, sometimes I too like to take a walk on the wild side. I also joined the Dark Brotherhood a while ago, but they're not as powerful as they used to be, sadly." "How badass of you," she waved a hand, dismissing it as nothing, "You sure make a girl quiver in her undies, for sure. I'm surprised the ladies aren't all over you. As for the Brotherhood, way too fucking underrated for me. Too... Strict, so to speak. They really take the fun out of big targets. I am just waiting for something to happen and suddenly you're the new Dragonborn."

"Well, I'm not sure about that. I mean, it could be, I don't know for sure, I know it's a hereditary thing, we now know for sure that more than one Dragonborn could exist at a time, but the Dragonborn only surfaces whenever Alduin does, and he was defeated by the Last Dragonborn, so I doubt it. Though it would be cool to be able to summon dragons like Miraak could." She clamped a hand over his mouth. "Darling," she sighed, "You're over-talking again. You know you get reeaally boring and annoying when you do that." She gave him a sideways glance, "I swear, you better make this whole affair thing worth it." She pat him on the head. "Good boy."

Miryn fell silent as he thought to himself. "Hey, Astene, where have you been besides Cyrodiil and Skyrim? I had been meaning to ask you that out of curiosity, you see." He said thoughtfully. "I mean, there's a whole ten year gap in each others lives we don't know about, I'll spare you the details of mine, cuz you'd most likely tune me out anyway, but I'm all ears for whatever you have to say or tell."

She paused, her eyes floating off to something else as she looked back, "I've been just everywhere when I still had regular money coming in and actually had a sort of job. Hate Elsweyr the most, too hot and had to give up a nice piece of work like Durkof. I usually stay here because its just like I like myself - cold like my soul. Fell into depression, joined a few cults, banged a few people, fell into another depression, then I just decided if I die, then I die. Oh well. Now enough of me, give me the gist of yours."

Miryn tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I went back to Solstheim, just to check up on everything. Ran into my father, for like, the first time ever, asked about my mother, who apparently is hard at work in Morrowind helping to fix the damage on behalf of House Telvanni, whom she is a member of. So my parents aren't too remarkable, I just wondered why they had upped and disappeared out of my life. I wasn't able to get an answer out of them, but...I don't hate them, I suppose."

"If my parents did that," she scoffed, "I'd show them who they were messing with. Then again, I think I'd be happier not knowing them." She chuckled some more, "At least they're normal and I'm assuming they've at least apologized for the disappearance. It's better than nothing."

Miryn sighed. "I told my dad I'd come back and see him some day, and maybe find my mom, too. Still have to wonder what ever happened to Lux, but thats beside the point, now lets get down to business, what do you want to do first, sweets?" "Ssshh," she pressed a finger to his lips, handing him a bottle of mead, "Just take this and we can see where we go from there. I'm sure you're very funny when there's no inhibitions inside your little head." Her eyes had a spark in them as she quietly awaited.

"Just this once." Miryn clarified, he said gripping the bottle, and taking a few gulps, wincing as the mead seared as it went down his throat. He stood still for a second, and then he started to get hazed vision. "I am sure that this a really bad idea." Miryn gulped. She let out a sinister laugh, wrapping an arm around him, "I would never let you into trouble..." She snickered, pulling him insanely close, "How about you and me take a little visit to that temple over there? Or better, the Hall of the Dead perhaps?"

"The temple is one thing, but what the hell would we do in the Hall of the Dead?" Miryn said, last thing he wanted was to commit some sacrilegious acts against the Priests of Arkay. "C'mon," she ignored his question, pulling him by the forearm and dragging him outside, "We won't be doing anything bad. We'll just... Be paying our respects, what else?" She snickered.

"Fine, but first sign of anything fishy, I have had nothing to do with you." Miryn deadpanned. "Me? Please, I am the epitome of self control." She sneaked them inside, throwing off her coat. She threw one body that laid limp on a slab over onto the ground as she herself hopped on. "What to do, what to do..." She scanned the coffins, thinking to herself. "Hey Miryn, you wouldn't happen to have a warhammer or any kind of sword on you, would you?"

"My shortsword, but I ain't handing that to you." Miryn growled, crossing his arms. "Whatever you are about to do is no doubt very disrespectful, no doubt about that." He crossed his arms as the haze of alcohol began to ebb, and his vision began to clear. "Well thanks for the trust," she rolled her eyes, "I wanted some help with something because I had a friend here, this was like a few months before I found out about you guys. And..." She rubbed her tearing eyes, sniffing, "He was... I loved him so much. We were going to get married once we had enough money for a home and..." She shook her head, "I just want the ring. We barely had enough for that. I forgot all about him until I saw these coffins..."

Miryn went silent. "I'm...so sorry." He went over to her, and held her close, stroking her hair. "I just need the sword..." She said, shaking him off, "You know- Fuck it, I can't do it. We were so close and everything, then-" She looked down, "We had our children's names picked out and everything... Just, give me the sword. Please, for me and Amnund. Let me have my way of saying goodbye."

Miryn pulled his prized blade free. "Fine." He handed it to her, and turned around, waiting for her to finish what she needed to do. She took it with a shaky hand, immediately hopping off the slab. "Hey, wanna play a game? Of course you do," she said quickly, not waiting for an answer, "It's called Moment of Truth. Basically, we either confess to a lie or tell a secret. Here, I'll start," she dropped to her knees, taking off the lid, "Well, I might have stretched the truth a little bit. Starters, his name wasn't Amnund that was actually my dad's name. Uh, let's see... We were a thing, but I really, really did not want to marry this little twat. We were a thing, but well... Let's say I like playing with my food before I eat it. And no, I'm not doing anything horrendous so don't get too mad." She cut the remains open, making a happy sound as she cooed over something small, "And after all this time, he kept it. The annoying little sweetheart..."

She quietly hopped next to him, awkwardly handing it to him. "So... On a brighter note, it's your turn. But technically, in my defense, I didn't lie I just left out pieces." She made a guilty smile, "Sorry."

Miryn was left speechless. "Um, honestly, I think we should get out of here before the priests of Arkay see what we did. I'm reasonably sure that they don't take kindly to people breaking into the coffins of the dead, call it a hunch." He said mildly nervously. "Please, you forget who I am," she laughed, "Give me ten minutes alone with them, they'll be practically overjoyed to have us around. Especially if you have a thing for threesomes. The more, the merrier right?" She laughed, laying back against the hard stone.

Miryn gave a weak, sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, that'll go over well, seriously, we gotta go. I'm sure there is much more entertaining things to be done then traipsing around tunnels lined with the bodies of the recently, and not so recently deceased, thank you very much!" Miryn's voice had lowered to a desperate hiss as he grabbed Astene and dragged her out of there. She snatched herself back and pushed him off as they were back outside, making a loud snorting sound, "Where's that precious wide side you were bragging about earlier? They're not going to notice, especially since I know how to clean myself up. Chill, we're suppose to be having fun, not sit around like some old married couple."

"Yeah, yeah. In any case, what else can we do?" Miryn said, eager to shift the subject, and hopefully Astene didn't remember that he had skated over her little game that she had attempted to use to get answers out of him for just about anything. "Oh, fuck you. No wonder the most you can score is a cheap fuck or two. This was a good idea, if I had a better choice of picking who," she turned around, giving him the finger, "Don't bother waiting up for me, because I won't for you."

Miryn shrugged then. "Fine, it'll make it easier for me." He made his way to leave Riften, perhaps it was better to just leave on his journey by himself, one less person to worry about. He was going to show any regrets to give Astene any sort of satisfaction, he straightened his sword, and pushed open the big doors leading into the wilds of Skyrim's eastern end. As he moved onward, he sensed a faint flicker of movement to his right, a rustling of trees, followed by the sudden appearance of three individuals carrying bizarre looking swords. The lead one simply approached and said. "You are the one?" Miryn arched an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"One of the individuals who will bring about the end." The man said quietly. Something told Miryn that these individuals out for blood, he drew his sword, running his fingers along the edge of the blade." And if I am?"

The man smirked. "Your actions, or rather, your future actions if you continue down this path will result in the damnation of us all, as such, we are here to cut you down, here and now, and let the world live on." He leveled his blade at the Dunmer's neck. Miryn smirked. "Very funny." He narrowly dodged a swing from the lead mans blade, and casted Invisibility. "Tricky bastard, they never give up easily, do they? Keep your eyes open, he could be anywhere." Miryn was indeed about to ambush one of them, dagger in hand, and in one swift movement, plunged it into the persons back, with them collapsing like a puppet with cut strings. He then retreated back into the shadows preparing to stealthily strike once again.

However, it didn't take long for the other two strangers to come across him, so he drew his sword, preparing for some violent conflict, but he'd be damned if he was going to lose. Miryn put all his strength into his swipes, eventually crushing his opponents hope at blocking and then fired a massive Fireball spell, with a smirk as the backdraft ruffled his hair. He looked around, now where was that last one?

As it happened, the leader of the the group had been laying an ambush of his own into place as he quickly swiped at Miryn, who managed to block it, albeit rather sloppily, and received a minor wound, a couple drops of Miryn's blood hitting the grassy earth beneath their feet. Miryn didn't waste any time in cutting him down. He cast his eyes around, surprisingly there wasn't as much blood as he had figured there would be. Though that wound he had received was deeper than he initially thought, he cast Healing, and the wound closed up eventually, he wasn't going to give Astene the satisfaction of the fact that he had planned on going back to Riften.

He slowly climbed to his feet, his legs sore from the spontaneous fight that had just transpired. He turned his head back to his original destination, jumping back as he met eyes with a new face. A short Breton girl, who must've gotten lost somewhere due to the armor she worn that Miryn recognized to be native to the madmen in the Reach Hold. She sniffed him, taking no thought in the sudden invasion of personal space. Her eyes wandered up and down, taking a lock of his hair to inhale, before moving to some nearby bushes. She picked off some berries and florals, mashing them together between her hands. "Berries," she muttered, her low voice barely audible. She patted and rubbed her hands on his cheeks, shoulder, and chest. She took another whiff of him, nodding in confirmation to herself. "Helps hide. They can't find what they can't smell," she picked up a small bag, flinging it over her shoulders. She took another long look as she also ruffled his hair, murmuring, "Disguise. Blend. Helps a lot."

Miryn was confused. "Um, what the hell? Who are you?" He asked. This was rather strange, the girl sounded a little unstable, and yet somehow, she seemed to be quite the survivalist, it was impressive, yet Miryn still felt very strange. "Hide sword, blend with civilians. Don't take roads, hide with nature. They won't see," she muttered, ignoring his question. She jumped on one of the lower branches, hoisting her light figure up. She looked back over to him, examining him once more, "We know. We see end. I help. Try to save world. Try to save home." She shrugged, letting out a grunt.

"Wait!"Miryn ran after her, but the girl was way too swift for him. "What the hell just happened? Well, I suppose she didn't try to kill me, so that's a good sign...I think, she was a Forsworn though." He tapped his chin thoughtfully, well, now that he was coated in the musk of berries and flowers, he wasn't quite sure what to do at this point. He shrugged it off eventually, though the thought of that strange girl further plagued his thoughts. A part of him hoped wherever she was, she was alright. He was tempted to go after her once more, but wasn't entirely sure if she would bother. He was on his own, for now, to Valenwood.

FIN-


End file.
